Cuddlefish Corner
Thread Topic: Cuddlefish Corner
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Minutes later, we enter the old, black stone tower. The place is pitch-black, but as we roam about, candles on the walls light themselves. There is no sign of life within the tower, but—then again, in a place like this, you wouldn’t expect life. Nalchiorus navigates around the tower pretty well, though.
Nalchiorus leads me into a throne room and he sits himself upon the throne made from the bones of others. He sits rather comfortably, but a dark cloud comes over him. I feel that something is off.
I carefully choose how I want to bring up my thoughts with that in mind. “So, we made it to the tower and the throne is yours now.”
Justin tilts his head and looks at me with his eyes narrowed. “Yes, we most certainly have, but you have not helped me claim a thing.”
The look of nerves on my face slowly fades into a frown. “What do you mean?”
Justin jumps up, his black and red cape dragging across the floor and his trident appears in his hand. “I lied to you. I AM the ruler of hades—I didn’t need anyone to help me overthrow the boss, for I am the boss.”
“What?!” I pull on my wavy lilac hair. “Then why did we come all the way out here?! Why didn’t you just give my soul back?!” I am angry and hurt and confused all at once.
“I brought you here so that you will not even HOPE to return to the realm of the living. Your body will die, your soul will be mine, and you will remain here forever,” he darkly says. “This tower shall be your home and you my bride. Together, we will rule hades, my love.”
I shake my head and fling my hand out to the side. “No! I want to be free! We had a deal, Nalchiorus!”
Nalchiours draws an emotionless look. “Dear child, have I not told you ‘don’t trust demons?’ Hmm, I always assumed that was something you should have known.” He brushes past me and heads for the doorway of the throne room. “Trust me, after a millennium here, you’ll love it.”
I grimace. I know I have to act, and fast, even if I don’t know what exactly to do! There is no way I’m staying here with a lying demon for the rest of my afterlife!
I dart after Nalchiorus, snatching the trident from his hand and knocking him over as I turn the corner and dash down the hall.
“Come back with that!” he shouts, getting back up and flying after me. “You’re only making this harder for yourself,” I can hear him call as I turn down another dark hall and lightning flashes outside. “If you don’t come back, I will rip you apart with my bare hands!”
I rush outside, jumping down the hill from rock to rock, heart pounding as I see Justin’s hot on my trail. “Whoa!” I slip when I meet the bottom of the hill and almost fall, but I pick myself back up and take to the skies. I look back and don’t see Justin, but I pick up the pace just to be safe. “If I can’t have my soul back, then you can’t have your trident!”
“Childish,” Justin says, appearing in front of me with a fiery sword.
“Yiiaaah!” I stop right in front of him, nose almost meeting the blade. I falter in hovering as lightning crashes between us.
“I would hate to do this to you out of all people, but you leave me no choice,” he says in a low voice, raising his sword.
Justin swings his sword down hard to my head, but I hold the trident out and the blade catches between the prongs. I grunt as I struggle to hold back his sword. “I’m not—grrrr—letting you—hrrrrgh—win!” I knock him back and swing at him.
Sparks fly as the blade of the sword met the red-hot prongs of the trident. He slashes low at me and I deflect the sword and turn back, flying towards a cliff’s edge. Justin follows me to the cliff’s edge; he backs me to the edge with my back towards the raging sulfur ocean below.
“Just give up. There is nothing left for you to do and nowhere for you to go,” he says. “Just be mine and we will spend eternity together here.”
“I don’t want to be here for eternity; so if I can’t have what I want,” I say, looking to the sulfur, “then neither can you.
“HIIIIIIIIIYAHHH!” I thrust the trident into the sea, prongs-first.
Justin dives to the edge of the cliff and stops just short of falling off as the trident flies out of reach and crashes into the sea. “No!”
The ground shakes violently and the cliff splits right up the side, cracking all the way up to where I stand. Before I know it, the ground drops off from beneath my feet and I fall with it.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaah!” I try to open my wings and fly back up as I scream for my life, but a rock hits my wing, wounding it. I see that I am heading for the sulfur; I can feel its heat burning my skin as I come so near. I yelp as something snatches me back up and tosses me up to a ledge on the cliff before a large object splashes into the sea. I land on the ledge and immediately gaze down only to find a hand sinking into the sulfur sea. “Justin?” I slowly crawl back to the cliff with tears in my eyes, putting my back against the wall. “He—he saved me.”
“Wow, you really don’t have that great a memory, do you?” he asks, sitting next to me, dripping wet and steamy from the sulfur, but his body is unscathed. I fling my arms around him in joy; Justin freezes for a moment, then he slowly lets his arms embrace me gently.
“I’m so happy that you’re—okay,” I say, then weakly dropping to the ground so suddenly. -
Justin catches me before I hit the ground. “Heckatee, are you alright?” He turns me over and examines me. My arm has a severe burn from the sulfur, as does my chest. “No, Heckatee!” I close my eyes, unable to speak as I feel myself drop off. Justin shakes me, but I don’t wake up. “Heckatee, please be okay. I’ll return your soul…I just—I just didn’t want you to go because I love you. Life has been so lonely here, and when I met you, I was determined to get you here so that I can stay with you forever. Now you’re going to die for real and it’s my fault…Unless…”
Justin brings me close to his chest, gazing at my gentle yet frightful expression as I am passed out. He draws me near and holds me tight as he kisses me.
I don’t know if it’s from true love or what, but I wake up just as Justin is slowly backing away from me. “I’m alive? Or did I die again?”
Justin flits his eyes in another direction. “I apologize. It was the only way to help you survive the sulfur burns.”
“What are you talking about,” I question, genuinely clueless.
“A demon’s kiss—it grants protection in this realm, but, it also means that you’re partially a demon…forever,” Justin explains in grief. “But, the kiss was the only thing I knew of that would save you. Your eyes have also turned black on account of being part demon.”
My cheeks turn red. “Wait, you kissed me and I wasn’t awake for that? Bummer,” I sigh. “I want a do over.”
Justin scratches his white-haired head. “Wait, what? Are you not angry that you’re a demon now?”
“Angry? Why? I think it’s pretty cool. Being here has given me an idea of the perks you guys get,” I chuckle. “Besides, I like being with you—can’t lie on that.”
“Nor can I, and I lie a lot. It’s actually in my name,” he sheepishly chuckles. “I’ll—I’ll miss you, though. And to answer your question, I DO mind being lonely. But I’d endure a thousand pains just to be with you,” he says, grabbing my hands. “Please don’t go.”
I smile warmly. “Justin, I must. My family loves me; they’re not ready to lose me yet and I’m not ready to lose them. However, since I’m partially demon, that means I can visit whenever I want, now.”
Justin looks down brokenheartedly. “I’ll still miss you. Nevertheless, I shall return your soul to you.” Justin reaches into his pocket and pulls out a glowing yellow sphere of light. “Goodbye, Heckatee.” Justin leans in and gives me a goodbye kiss, then the ball of light begins to glow.
I open my eyes and see the blue sky above, the clouds so white and puffy, and the birds flapping happily past the sun. I look to my left as I hear a muffled voice call to me. An elderly man is knelt down by my side in front of his eighteen-wheeler.
“Thank goodness you’re alive! I was certain I killed you, poor baby!” he says.
I stand straight up with not a scratch or pain on me. “I’m okay, sir,” I say, feeling more relieved than I ever had in years. “I’m sorry I was in the street. I’ll be fine.” I kneel down and pick up my soccer ball, taking it back inside the house as the man climbs back into his truck.
“What an angel,” the man says as he puts on his seatbelt and pulls off.
When my parents return home, I couldn’t be happier to see them. This is a shock to them considering how hopeless I appeared for the longest time. I am just happy to sit down and have supper with them.
Mom looks up at me from across the table. “Heckatee,” she begins, “your father and I have been thinking that it might do you well to go out and get some fresh air more often—make friends, have fun! The doctor can’t stress enough that your happiness is rather important. It might help you cope with your problems.”
I’m surprised to hear this news. “Really?!” I smile from ear to ear. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
So, the next weekend, I lace up my sneakers and take my soccer ball outside. Today, I plan to head to the park and find friends to play soccer with.
I reach the edge of the street, looking both ways to cross, and right across from me on the other side stands a boy. He is dressed in the most formal schoolboy uniform, his hair is white, and his eyes are black. I gasp as our eyes meet, and he smiles back at me his fanged smile that only I would recognize.
If someone had told me that I’d become the princess of demons, I wouldn’t have believed them, but hey, like I said, anything and everything can change…
THE END -
(Not sure if this works. If it doesn't, I'll just post the link.) -
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Pearl, Marina, We're Your Biggest Frauds!
Pearl kicked back in her chair, placing her arms behind her head as Marina flipped the record and placed it down to play. "Ahhhh. Now this is how you make the summer fresh!"
"And these new songs really do the trick. I think everyone in Inkopolis is listening in right now," Marina announced with joy.
Pearl turned on her microphone. "Our next song is Tentacular Summer Ebb and Flow. Hope ya'll like it!" She closed her eyes and bobbed her head as Marina played the record. Then, Pearl opened her golden eyes and shot a look to Marina. "This is the life."
Marina smiled her nervous but gracious, fanged grin and nodded. "There's no place I'd rather be than our studio. I mean, sure there are lots of things to be done in the summer, but we make the most of our memories here, you and I."
"True dat, 'Rina, true dat." Pearl sat up as her stomach let out a ferocious growl. "Hey," she called out, causing Marina to jump. "You wanna grab somethin' from Crusty Sean's on the way home? A squid could eat!"
"Oh, I thought you wanted to eat healthy," Marina slowly reminded Pearl.
Pearl's eyes grew as her smile dropped. "But-but...Marina," Pearl whined, "I'm HUNGRY!"
"Ohhh, alright. I suppose one meal couldn't hurt," Marina compromised, shaking her head.
After the two finished up at the studio, they went out into Inkopolis Square to get lunch. -
When Pearl and Marina got to Crusty Sean's food truck, they found a large crowd of Inklings and Octolings waiting for their orders.
"Whoa," Pearl gasped, "lunch hour be packed."
Marina shrugged. "Maybe we should come back around 2."
"Yeah," Pearl agreed, waving for Marina to follow her. "Let's split."
"WAAAAAAAIT!" a voice cried out from the crowd.
"WAAAAAAAIT!" another voice repeated.
Both Marina and Pearl jumped and whipped back around to find two young kids, a fluorescent-pink Inkling girl and a neon-teal Octoling girl.
The Inkling girl waved vigorously. "Hi, I'm Pearly and this is Marine."
"WE'RE YOUR BIGGEST FANS!" the two girls screamed in unison.
Marina stepped back uncomfortably. "Erm..."
Pearl looked at them in confusion. "Eh," she thought to herself, "kinda creepy, but okay." Pearl stepped up to the two and held her hand out. "What's cookin'? Hopefully not you," she cracked, trying to pass the awkward moment.
Pearly smiled an impossibly-huge smile. "We want you to sign our clothes!" she said.
"NO," Marine corrected, "GIVE US YOUR SIGNATURES!"
"YES," Pearly agreed, "TEACH US HOW TO WRITE LIKE YOU GUYS!"
"AND SING LIKE YOU!"
"AND LOOK LIKE YOU"
Both: "AND ACT LIKE YOU!!!"
Pearl backed away, lowering her hand, eye twitching. "Eh???..."
Marine shook her head, snapping out of her shock, and politely cleared the air. "I'm sorry, we can't do any of that, but we cangive you an autograph."
The two's eyes grew wide, filling with tears. "NO!" they demanded, "WE'RE YOUR BIGGEST FANS! WE DESERVE MORE! IT'S NOT FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIR!"
Marina gasped, covering her ears. "Oh!" Before she could reply, Pearl interjected, "Sorry, but we don't accommodate to brats."
Pearl pulled Marina along. "Come on, 'Rina. Let's go home."
Off the Hook duo, Pearl and Marina, left Pearly and Marine in the middle of Inkopolis Square.
The two young fans turned red with anger and looked to each other, growling as their role models walked away... -
Shiva Jimmu Story 2"
Akina’s wispy grey-blue bangs glide across his face, covering his blood-red eye, but leaving his light-blue eye uncovered. He walks along with his head held down towards the dry, cracked ground as I walk on ahead of him. My Darkling powers have been clashing and on edge with Akina’s Aura Warrior side ever since we united (or, became long-term company to the other). My hair has remained jet black and my eyes deep red. I don’t feel that they will be letting up anytime soon. So I am continuously on guard and dismayed by his presence, and this goes farther than just hating his guts. Akina opens his mouth to speak as we descend from a steep hill and approach a marketplace, but he grips his worn grey and black cloak and shuts his lips tight. How long has it been, now? How many tormenting days have we been doing this exact routine? Oh, if only you knew. I’ll tell you, though, after you guess. Humor me with your pathetic guess of one month. It hasn’t even been that long. So then, two weeks? Much longer than that. Give up? Alright, I’ll tell you. We’ve been doing this for THREE HUNDERED TWENTY-NINE DAYS! And that’s not even half a month, for me. “Shiva,” Akina finally speaks, and I reluctantly look at him, hoping he’ll change his mind on addressing me, but he continues to speak. “I can tell when you don’t want me around.” I scoff, folding my arms. “You think I’d ever want you around?! Look, if it weren’t for you and your stupid Avalonian Aura Warriors hunting me down, I wouldn’t be in this mess!” Akina’s eyes cut like a knife as they narrow and furiously dart over to me. “Well, if you want to be technical, you brought all of this on yourself!” he snaps back. “HOW,” I demand to know, throwing my hands down and glancing back over my shoulder. Akina nearly chokes, folding his arms and coming to a dead stop while I keep walking. “Was it not you who decided to Darken me?” I stop and turn around, hating that he called me out on it. “I didn’t intend on Darkening you,” I reply in a mutter. “Then why did you do it?” he presses on. I walk away and don’t answer him, but he chases me down and grips me by the arm, pulling me back to face him. “Why’d you do it?!” “BECAUSE I WANTED YOU DEAD,” I roar, initially unaware of how despicably hate-filled and vengeful that sounds. Akina’s eyes widen, then his eyelids suddenly fall to a calmer gaze, but I can still see the previous shock and realization in his eyes. “So then, maybe my people WERE right about your kind—death is all you’ve ever wanted.” I don’t comment on Akina’s remark. Personally, I’m tired of his company, I’m tired of people attacking me, and I’m tired of having to justify myself to others. I could give a darn less about what Akina thinks, at this rate. It’s not as if his thoughts will change what happened or what’s bound to come. I resume walking, finally making it over to the market side and joining the see of merchants and consumers gathered in the cul-de-sac of the forest. Akina’s rage quickly dies down as his attention is drawn to the busyness of the market side. All around, there are creatures—pixies, changelings, humanoids; animals, spirit incarnates, and even anthropomorphous beings (which are animal/humanoid creatures, if you didn’t know). There are several stands set up all around the closed-in area shaded by the tall trees and fenced off by the thicks of the woods. Some stands sell livestock skins and furs, some sell enchanted furniture—and I just saw a chair get up and run; witches sell their charms and concoctions while knights trade in pieces of silver for some pretty decent armor. “What is this place,” Akina asks in wonder. “I’ve never seen it.” “We’ve come a long way from where we were,” I state; “this kingdom is Keljor, and this is the Melehmuna market side—the biggest marketplace in the world.” “Hm,” Akina breathes. “I hear they have EVERYTHING here.” “Yes, and that is why we’re here,” I reply, slipping past two people making a deal—money for fresh produce. “With any luck, we’ll be able to acquire a spell book or potion that’ll sort you out so I can send you home.” Akina seems more than surprised when he hears my plan. “You’re helping me? Why would you do that?” he questions as I pretend he’s no longer here; I push past Akina while he continues to annoy the heck out of me. “You just said you wanted me to die, and now you’re HELPING ME?” I scoff. “It’s not for you,” I snort, and that’s all I say. I then lift my eyes up to a weathered, old wooden sign that hangs above a stand. “’Charky’s Elixirs’,” I read. I approach the stand and see no one to run the thing. “What gives,” I growl. “There’s nobody around!” Akina’s eyes soften to a thoughtful gaze as I roll mine. “Perhaps the shopkeeper went out for lunch and forgot to put up a sign,” he says. “Yeah,” I huff. “Either that, or they mixed up the wrong elixir and met their demise.” -
“AH-HEH-HEM!” a young, raspy voice rings out, purposely catching my attention. “I can HEAR you!” I nervously jump back, glancing around, trying to find the speaker. “Down here, you dolt!” the strident voice orders. I look down to the floor, only seeing my black, dust-covered boots. “Huh?” “Not THAT far down, you idiot!” I quickly bring my head back up, nearly raising my eyes to the sky when something streaks across my line of vision as I am vigorously bringing my head back up. I pull my head back down and find myself looking just over the top of the counter to find a rather diminutive creature standing on a red and white toadstool. An oddity before my eyes, the creature is cyan and powder-blue with black markings on its face and patches across its body. Its hair is rose-gold, tied away in a high ponytail, and its body is the perfect hourglass shape. It has golden eyes and a face that resembles the shape of a fox’s, and it even has a bushy fox tail, but its ears are lynx-like and it doesn’t have a snout. But, it DOES have sharpened fangs in its mouth. None of this impresses me, though. “Aaaaand, what might YOU be,” I question after having my fair share of staring in confusion. The creature, offended by my question, vanishes in a puff of smoke and reappears with its human-ish feet jammed into my collarbone, holding my face with one hand to keep its balance and using the other hand to smack me one good time across my left cheek. SMACK! “OW,” I snarl, immediately jumping and rubbing my cheek as the thing disappears and reappears on the toadstool. “I—am a lady,” she impudently snorts. “YOU need to show some respect.” Flicking her cyan and powder-blue tail high in the air, she turns around and waves me off. “Now, go on—be gone—both of you! Until someone shows me some respect, I will not be doing business with you,” she finishes, folding her arms. “Huh! As if,” I ridicule, turning around and walking a few steps away from the stand. Akina hesitantly reaches out to the lady, looking back over his shoulder and eyeing me for a moment before his hand falls gently on the lady’s shoulder. “H-hey… I’m sorry about that, ma’am. We were rude to stare. We didn’t mean to hurt your feelings; we were just curious of your species; we’ve never seen it before.” “Oh,” she says, not at all bothered, “I’m of the Vulpecula lynx daevas order—commonly known as the “vulpine-lynx succubus”, and—I’m not at all offended by Mr. Manners, over there. Actually,” she begins, leaning closer to Akina with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, “I kinda like him.” The succubus gives a humored, squealing-cackle before standing on her tiptoes and cupping her hands in a welcoming manner. “My name is Charkamorah, but you can call me Charky. Welcome to my elixir stand! How may I help you boys today?” “Well, you see,” Akina begins in a hushed voice, “I’m supposed to be a Light Mage, but during a battle with Shiva, a Dark Mage, I was infected with Dark Aura Purge; however, Shiva’s attack didn’t work full-force on me, and I am now stuck with half of my powers being white magic and the other half being Shiva’s Twilight magic. Shiva brought me here in hopes that you would have an elixir to fix this, I guess, but—“ “He’s not the best guy to have around, I can tell,” Charky remarks, rolling her eyes and resting her head in her palms while her elbows rest on the counter. Akina fidgets with his fingers. “Well—“ “So,” Charky suddenly huffs, “you’re talking about a dark-to-light magic elixir or a purge elixir, right?” Akina nods. “Right.” Charky’s golden eyes narrow as she takes a good look at Akina; they quickly dart around, eyeing all the customers present in the marketplace, and then her eyes fall back on Akina in alarm. “Are you nuts?!” she shouts. “Why, such an elixir is illegal! Now, get out of here and don’t come back!” “Aagh!” the goodie-goodie cries, startled by Charky’s sudden outburst. Akina rushes back over to me while I indulge in witnessing his terror. “Hah,” I jeer under my breath. “Guess that’s what happens when you’re too nice about everything.” I set off down the path away from Charky’s shop as Akina struggles to catch his breath. Akina stumbles over his own two feet, trying to catch up to me. “Now what do we do?” he asks, like he really doesn’t have a mind for himself and I’m his daddy and I have to tell him everything. I grunt. “We wait, obviously.” He looks at me like an idiot, just plain stupefied by my answer. “Huh? W-wait? What for?” I grit a response through my teeth. “The elixir—that’s ‘what for’!” “But, Charky said she wouldn’t—“ “I don’t care what Charky said,” I state, flinging my left arm out and tossing the cape of my black cloak over to the back of me. “It’s obvious that she’s not going to help us, but it’s clear that she knows how,” I tell him. “So, all we have to do is wait for her trade hours to be up, hope that she’s the last one to pack up, and get the elixir we need.” Akina gulps hard, recoiling in terror as if I told him we’re going to murder Charky. “What?! Stealing?!” “Um, yeah,” I scoff. Akina goes into a stammering fit, growing anxious at the thought of my plan. “B-b-but, that’s—that’s just—we can’t steal from HER! She’s a demon, Shiva!” “A SUCCUBUS, Akina,” I specify. “What’s the worse she can do—jump into my dreams and haunt me for eternity; or maybe persuade me to jump off a cliff in my sleep?” Akina remains silent as I carry on with my rhetorical questions. “Are you really THAT afraid of a little imp? I’ve seen rabbits scarier than that little thing!” Akina groans, agonized by the guilt that is tearing him apart and the weakling hasn’t even done anything, yet. Pathetic. “Come on! Man up, you Half-a-Darkling,” I finish, bitterly ridiculing Prince Perfect. “We’ll go somewhere else and wait for a while, and when sunset hits, we’ll return here and see if we can snag a few elixirs because I am NOT spending another day with you!” And so, we waited. We returned to a small cottage we’ve been staying at for a few days, now. It’s not too far from the marketplace, but not too close to the commotion of Keljor. We wait from noon to evening, and at twilight, we arrive back at the Melehmuna market side. At this time of day, it looks like all the other shopkeepers cleared out from the cul-de-sac; only three are still here packing their things up—a jeweler who secretly has nothing valuable to sell, a knight selling dragon-scale armor, and a dragon selling hair from actual people. (An interesting shop, the dragon has, but also disturbing.) “Hmmm,” I growl to myself, hiding in a thick bush. “I don’t see Charky anywhere?” Akina grabs my arm, tugging me along like a scared little girl. “Oh well, I suppose we should leave, then.” “Not happening,” I revolt. “And if you touch me again, you can be sure that I’ll be the last thing you’ll ever touch,” I then threaten, showing my fangs. Akina fearfully withdraws his hand from me as I begin to slip into another bush to survey a different side of the market. “Ugh! I can’t see anything from here,” I shout in a whisper before shadowshifting and slinking out into the open. “Shiva, come back,” Akina warns, wearily shadowshifting and coming after me.
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I dart across the dirt path, crawling beneath the trees, scampering under the bushes, and slipping into another shopping area, a little ticked off that fearful Akina is right behind me. But, I have no time to focus on my annoyance when I spot yet another market—Charky’s elixir stand. I slip behind a tree, taking form and rubbing my hands together. “And here we are,” I lowly announce with pride. Akina takes form and gasps after settling his eyes on the nearly-unattended stand. “Charky is still here, though,” he says, pointing to the shadow of a small creature as it stretches across the ground and draws near to the stand. Clattering beakers and humming fills the air as Charky comes out from around the other side of the stand, caring empty elixir beakers stacked higher than her own head, teetering and tottering in her arms while she reaches with a single finger to snatch up one more empty beaker. Then, she pulls a brown potato sack out from her scruffy, rose-gold ponytail and dumps the beakers into the bag. Continuing her carefree humming, Charky hoists the bag over her shoulder, almost tipping over from the weight, and walks some distance away from the stand to load the bag into an old, wooden wagon. “Quick,” I anxiously call, “—while Charky’s distracted!” Akina and I become shadows once more, slithering across the ground like two snakes in the road, slipping right up to the stand and taking a shadowy form of ourselves. Akina gazes around at the several different elixirs before turning to me worriedly. “But, how do we know which elixir will hurt and which will heal?” “Mmm-mhn [I don’t know],” I utter in a nonverbal moan, shrugging. “Just grab some,” I tell him, snatching up any and every kind of elixir I can find. Akina does the same, and when we’re through, we both dart back over to the bushes, hoping that Charky doesn’t notice. “Ohhhh,” Akina groans in another bout of guilt, “I think she’ll notice.” “Then do me a favor and STOP thinking,” I remark, secretly watching with some anxiety as well, seeing Charky near her store. Charky stops on the side we pulled the elixirs from. Without any sort of hesitation, she picks up the remaining beakers and drops them into a sack, carrying that sack to her wagon. Once she reaches the wagon, Charky places the sack on top of the others and glances back over her black and powder-blue shoulder. After gazing around, Charky turns back straight, bends down, and picks up the handle to the wagon, then she sets off down the road and towards the setting sun. I shoot a know-it-all look over to Akina, knowing that I DO know it all. (That’s a fact.) “See? I told you it’d work.” I turn around, flinging my cape over my shoulder and walking back to the cottage as Akina’s face is filled with shock. “I was certain she’d catch us,” he replies. I laugh, waving it off. “Ha! When you’re a shadowshifter like me, there’s NO WAY you can get caught.” Arriving at the cottage, I quickly run to the center of the living room, placing down all the elixirs and arranging them by color while Akina takes his time in bolting the door and starting a fire in the fireplace. Once he finishes up with his little safety checks, he joins me in the middle of the floor, picking up an elixir and attempting to read the inscription to discern what it does. Akina eyes the elixir bottle curiously, turning it about in his hands before looking to me in stupor. “I can’t read any of this; it’s all in demon. Perhaps you could?” he suggests. I snatch my blazing red eyes up from an elixir to pit them angrily into Akina’s eyes. “What are you suggesting,” I ask in a ferocious roar, pointed ears lying back like an angered horse’s. “I—I just thought that maybe you could read demon,” he stammers. “What—do you think that Darklings are demons? Is that what you think?!” Akina sets down the elixir, twiddling his fingers and looking away. “Well, you two do tend to act alike, and—“ “Alright, get this into your head, angel boy: I am a Darkling—a powerful dark mage and holder of Twilight Magic. I am more powerful, more dreadful, more intelligent than any demon could ever be! And the next time you call Darklings and demons one in the same will be the last time, ‘CAUSE I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD,” I threaten, snatching my sword off my back and pointing the very tip of the blade to Akina’s nose. Akina shrinks back in fear, freezing up as his eyes shoot open, staying locked on my sword until he manages to snatch his eyes off the weapon and settle them on me again, sheepishly. “I’m sorry,” he quickly and quietly apologizes. Without a verbal response, my eyes relax just the slightest as I remove my sword from under Akina’s nose and sheathe it. “…I can only read a few words in demon,” I suddenly say in a low voice, breaking the silence. I then reach my hand out and pick up an elixir labeled with a familiar-looking character. After a few seconds of staring at the label, I can finally decipher the inscription. “This one says ‘energy’. I’m not sure what else it says, but it should be helpful, right?” “I suppose,” Akina wearily replies. “I’ll put it in a maybe pile,” I say, tossing it aside. I pick up another elixir and read it. “This one says ‘rest and restoration’.” “What about this one,” Akina asks, raising an elixir bottle with silver, sparkling elixir inside. “Can you read this one?” I take the bottle from him and read the label. “’Reversal’. Reversal? That’s it! We should probably use this one! It should reverse the effects of me Darkening you!” I turn over the elixir and read the fine print. “Hmm. ‘Use with a drop of Rest and Restoration elixir if pain occurs.’ So, this one might hurt,” I state. Akina bites his lip. “Is pain a side effect of all elixirs?” I shrug and look at the Rest and Restoration elixir. “’Use with a drop of Rest and Restoration elixir if pain occurs’? But this IS the Rest and Restoration elixir!” I look over to Akina and he’s clearly not all-in on this idea. “It would seem so,” I respond to his answer. “But, what are you—a scaredy-cat? If you’re really a warrior as you say you are, pain shouldn’t be a problem for you. Now just take the stupid elixir so you can get out of my hair,” I order, tossing both elixirs over to him. Akina just barely catches the elixirs, gripping them with his arms as they crash into his chest. He stares down at the elixirs before hesitantly opening the Reversal one and taking a few sips. Then, he takes a drop of the Rest and Restoration elixir. Akina groans after having taken both elixirs. “Owww, this hurts so much!” “Come on, don’t be a baby about it,” I scoff, folding my arms. “I’m not. It…HURTS!” he cries, gripping his stomach and dropping to the floor in agony. “AAAAAAAAGH!” You know remorse isn’t my sort of thing, but somehow, the level of pain within Akina’s cry manages to disturb even me. I now feel something weird within myself. It feels like something is gnawing at my stomach; it feels like the whole world is murmuring and shaking its head at me for making Akina take the elixirs; I feel like I’m on trial and I’ve been sentenced to life in prison for murder. This feeling—this strange feeling—is something I’ve never known before, and I don’t want to even think about it; I just want it to stop. “OKAY,” I shout. “Look, just take some more of the Rest and Restoration elixir; it should help calm you down.” “But, the instructions said to take a drop,” he objects through pained groans. “It should help you rest, though, so just take it,” I urge again. Akina wills himself to sit up and takes another drop of elixir. He continues to groan and writhe from the pangs of tormenting aching after using another drop. “You probably need more than that,” I tell him sternly. “Here.” I crawl over to him and put the elixir to his mouth; Akina takes a few sips until the beaker’s nearly empty. “That should do it.” Akina moans, Akina groans, and then, everything subsides. Akina sits perfectly still—eyes first wide in shock, but slowly narrowing to a more relaxed g
-
Akina sits perfectly still—eyes first wide in shock, but slowly narrowing to a more relaxed gaze. “Are you okay,” I ask unaware of the unusual tone of worry I use in addressing him. I soon become self-conscious, however, and realize that I’m almost right on top of Akina, and at some point, I unintentionally had put my hand on top of his. I snatch my hand away in awkward haste, jerking myself back away from him and sitting on my knees. “I-I mean, ‘cause if you die on my watch, you people will never leave me alone,” I force out, regaining my snappy attitude. Yuck. What was that about? I’ve never touched Akina outside of hurting him. And did I really just ask him if he was okay? This kid MUST be affecting me. His disgusting light is rubbing off on me, probably. Akina is silent for a moment before he answers me, but the steady look in his eyes unsettles me as it grows oddly mellow, oddly satisfied. “I’m—“ Out like a light, Akina’s eyelids fall shut and he sways backward, falling fast asleep before he even hits the floor. When his back meets the floor, Akina is in a deep and seemingly-enjoyable sleep. Along with the warm crackling of the fireplace, Akina’s hushed breaths are the only noise in the cottage. “He’ll be fine,” I say to myself. I then look to the rest of the Rest and Restoration elixir. “Hm. Maybe it’ll do me good to get a good sleep, too,” I say, picking up the beaker and drinking the rest of the elixir. As soon as I swallow the last of it, I stick my tongue out in disgusted remembrance. “Ew. Why’d I do that? Now I have Akina’s germs!” I complain to myself, but it’s not too much longer before I find myself out just as Akina is. I fall to the floor, lying next to Akina, and when I open my eyes again, it’s morning. I yawn and stretch, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. “Is it morning? Did I really fall asleep that fast? Wow. Maybe I should take some of that every night.” I turn around in the floor. “Akina, wake up,” I order, eyeing the kid. Akina moans softly, moving very subtly as his hair rests over his entire face, covering him like a wispy, blue-grey sheet. “Grr,” I growl, growing impatient. “Get up you Half-a-Darkling! Did the elixir work or not?!” Akina yawns and sits up, but I’m met with a rude awakening as he sweeps his hair out of his eye and faces me straight-on. Akina’s eyes shimmer as the black eyeliner adds a stunning contrast; his lips are pink, covered in lipstick; his shoulders are round and delicate, and his body looks more like that of a graceful princess rather than that of a warrior prince. Akina, in short…is a girl! “Shiva,” Akina says with a gentle voice, “I feel weird. Do I look weird? I somehow feel weird.” “GAH,” I exclaim, gripping my chest. “Stay away from me!” I scramble to my feet and back away from him as he stands up. “What? What is it?” he asks. “Akina, you’re a girl!” “Huh?” he chokes in stupor. “The Reversal elixir reversed you into a girl!” “Wah-haaaaaaa,” Akina screams in horror. “Who makes an elixir that reverses your gender and simply calls it ‘Reversal’?! That is SO misleading,” I shout, gripping my head. “Wait,” Akina says. “I can just drink some more and I should go back to normal!” Akina scoops up the elixir and takes a drink, but nothing happens. He doesn’t even feel a single pang like the first time. “It’s not working,” he panics. “Why isn’t it working?” I snatch the beaker from him and read the label as best I can. “’One-way elixir’? What?! Are you kidding me?! Alright, I’ve had it. Just drink something—anything. It should help. It says here that this elixir is temporary and can be neutralized by another elixir.” “Um, okay.” Akina frantically searches around on the floor, dropping down on his knees and picking up another bottle. “Ah, here! What about this one?” “’Resolve’. Yeah, this should terminate the effects of the Reversal elixir. Use it.” Akina chugs the elixir and soon finds himself surrounded by sparkles. “Uhhh, is this supposed to happen?” Before I can answer, a bright, white, flash fills the room. I shield my eyes with my arm, and when I lower my arm to take a look, I find that Akina is male again, but…there is now five of him. “AAAAAAH,” Akina screams. “AAAAAAH,” three of the copies scream. “Hehehehe, it’s kind of funny,” the forth copy laughs. (And I’m guessing that’s the dim one.) All panicking and out of control, the five Akinas run this way and that, taking elixirs and chuggin’ ‘em like…age-appropriate beverages that I totally drink…(and we’ll say this for the kiddos.) “No, wait, stop,” I call, but none of the panicking idiots can hear me. “Stop doing that! Now I can’t tell who’s the real Akina!” “Ahahaha!” one Akina laughs, holding an elixir labeled ‘Powerful’. “I am not Akina, I am AKIRA! The whole world will do my bidding! I am a GO—“ SHING! I slash “Akita” right down the middle and he bursts into fairy dust. “No you ain’t,” I mutter. I stand tall and re-sheathe my sword. “Okay, so, all Akinas present, stop what you’re doing and look at me!” All the Akinas freeze in place, staring directly at me. Their eyes are all light-blue on the right and a tinge of red on the left. And their hair is slightly blue-grey. It looks like Akina’s copies share some of the Darkening effects, so telling them apart by looks won’t do me any good. “Okay,” I huff, “raise your hand if you’re prince of the Avalonians.” They all raise their hands. I give a funny look, realizing this might not work, either. “Hrm. Okay… Raise your hand if you were recently turned into a girl.” They all raise their hands again. “Raise your hand if—“ One Akina raises his hand and stares straight into my eyes. “Okay, can you not do that?! I haven’t even finished my instructions!” But still, he keeps his hand up. “Raise your hand if—“ He lowers his hand and thrusts it into the air again. “Oh, oh, oh! Pick me! Pick me!” “What the heck is your problem,” I ask, getting tired of this half-wit interrupting me. Wait. Half-wit. That must be the stupid copy of Akina, which means— “YIIIAH!” I roar, lunging for him and slashing him in half. He bursts into sparkles as the other three Akinas turn and look at me with fright. The idea hits me as I regain a tall stance: If I can figure out the defining difference between the three remaining, I should be able to get rid of the copies and locate the real Akina. “Alright,” I say, concocting a devious grin, “this, I can do.” I lower my sword and face the three Akinas. “Akinas, what do you hate most about me?”
-
“I do not hate you at all,” one of them answer. “I hate the way you think you’re better than everyone else,” another says. “I hate the way you think I’m weak just because I’m not you,” the last one says. I run my eyes down the line and find the first to answer, thrusting my sword into him and piercing his chest. “Aaaaaaaaa—“ POOF! “Huh! Just as I thought,” I grunt. Eying the last two Akinas, I glare sharply. “Now then, with only two of you left, one will disappear, and the other will be the true Akina. Once the fake is gone, the REAL Akina can take this Reset elixir I found, here. Hopefully it only resets the effects of the elixirs, as it states.” “I am ready,” one answers as the other says, “Then let’s begin.” “Who is the—(shudders, gags)—love of your life,” I ask, having to force the ‘L’ word out. “I haven’t one.” “I haven’t one.” “Wh-what?” I nearly stumble against the wall. It must be true because both answered that they didn’t have a love. So then, is Mei NOT his girlfriend, or are they both lying? “But, who’s your girlfriend?” “Mei,” they simultaneously reply, “but I do not love her,” one states as the other says, “but she could not love me in this state.” Using all common sense, it is clear to me which of the two is the real Akina and which is the fake. I charge for the one who answered he didn’t love Mei. “Be gone,” I roar. “Aaagh!” he cries, grabbing the arm of the other Akina and thrusting him into my blade. “NO,” I exclaim, but it’s too late. My sword pierces Akina, who freezes in shock. Slowly, Akina raises a hand and waves to me with a morbid gaze. Then, he vanishes into dust. “What?” I stand up straight, confused as heck about what just happened. “If the one that loves Mei is the fake, then that would mean…” I turn to Akina, who sorrowfully hangs his head low. “I do not love Mei. I am arranged to marry her, but I do not love her. She’s more of a sister,” Akina states, closing his eyes. “Uh, drama,” I think to myself. I shake my head and address Akina aloud. “Whatever. Now that I know you’re you, take this Reset elixir. Everything should go back to the way it was before I accidentally turned you into a girl, split you apart, and killed your clones and/or separate aspects of you.” I hand him the elixir. Obviously nervous, Akina slowly receives of the elixir and takes a few sips. White sparkles surround him and a white light encases him before dispersing. When the light clears away, Akina looks all the same as he did before when I had halfway Darkened him. “So, now,” I ask. “Nothing. I feel nothing. The same kind of nothing that I felt before,” Akina replies, disheartened but also relieved. But his relief slowly changes into something else. “It was all a waste of my time to rob Charkamorah, and I wouldn’t have had to do so had you not pushed me!” he snaps, drawing his golden scepter from his back and closing in on me. “This is all YOUR fault! Had you not Darkened me, I would have no need to suffer even half as much as I do, now! Rahhhhhhhhh!” Akina swings his scepter into my left side, knocking me across the room and into the wall. I hit the wall with a grunt, somehow catching my footing on the floor. I draw my sword and grimace, showing my fangs as my red eyes blaze up in fury. “You can’t be grateful that I didn’t kill you? I had all the means to, and I didn’t, so why can’t you be satisfied with THAT?!” I rocket off from the wall and fly at Akina, swinging my sword at him. Our weapons clash and lock as I land on my feet and stare into his bitter eyes. “I should destroy you, Shiva Jimmu! You destroyed my life,” Akina roars, taking back his scepter so I’d fall forwards; he then drives his knee into my forehead, and when I fall away from the crippling impact, he slashes me again with his scepter. I fall to the floor, landing up against the wall and dropping my sword as Akina stands over me with red eyes. “Look, just cool it, okay? I’m working on fixing it. I mean, you think I WANT to be stuck with you for the rest of my life?! Heck no! So I’m doing what I can to make this right, okay? So just STAY OFF MY CASE ‘CAUSE I’M TRYING TO FIX IT,” I snap back. Before I realize what I’m doing, I drag my hands in a circle, crossing them in the air and holding them out in front of my chest; following a literal second of silence and stillness, a dark-purplish-black beam blasts out from the center of my crossed arms; and when the beams wrap around Akina, they bring him to his knees, shrieking in torment. My anger is strong, my hatred for Akina rages, and I can barely keep control over myself. But deep within me, there’s that pain yet again—the same one I felt when Akina was in anguish from the elixirs. And just what IS this stupid, nagging feeling, anyway? And why do I feel like it involves seeing Akina suffer by…my hand? In the heat of the moment, I felt led to execute the one spell that everyone calls me an assassin for—Dark Siphon. This move is strong enough to suck the very chi from one’s body. In the past, I never thought I’d used it long enough to take anyone’s life, but perhaps I did and they passed shortly after I departed from them since their body couldn’t recover in time. I gasp and gradually lessen my grip on Akina as I come to realize that I…I AM an assassin. I have hurt others in my haste to defend myself. “Ruuh,” I grunt, releasing Akina from Dark Siphon and standing against the wall, panting. “Uhn,” Akina lowly groans, holding on to his scepter for support. His eyes regain the light-blue and red look from before as he brings his eyes up from the floor to face me with a stern glare. “I understand that you’re trying to fix it, but for whom? Me or yourself?” I’m kinda confused with his question, but he goes on before I can speak. “All this time, you keep saying you want me out of your hair because I’m a burden to you, but I don’t hear you saying that you want to fix this because you admit it’s your fault; I don’t hear you saying you want to fix this because you know I’m suffering; and I definitely don’t hear you saying you want to fix this because you’re sorry, either!” Akina brings himself to his feet, pushing off from his scepter and placing the scepter on his back. “And trying to fix something isn’t an apology in itself, Shiva!” I scoff, rolling my eyes and folding my arms. Get a load of this guy—trying to force me to apologize. He must’ve forgotten that HE’S the one who initiated the attack against me; I was just defending myself. “Ugh, fine,” I groan. “I’m sorry, okay?” “Hmph,” Akina grunts, eyes growing all red. “I don’t believe you. “When you gave me the Reset elixir, it didn’t reset the damage done; it reset my dominant magic. And do you know what I chose to keep in favor over the other?” Grinning with the most jagged and monstrous grin, Akina draws a circle in the air, jerking his arms to cross each other over his chest as he answers. “Twilight Magic.” Akina’s dark energy blasts out from him and ensnares me like a rope; it strangles me like a snake coiled around my body, and it drains me of my very life. I struggle to free myself from Akina’s Dark Siphon, but I am…not strong enough!? I fall to the floor, groaning and gasping for air. “Akina, stop!” “Hmm, how about ‘NO’?!” He tightens his grip on me. He makes it tighter and tighter until— POP! “AAAAAAAAAAAAGH,” Akina and I both scream, sitting straight up in the floor of the cottage. “You were crazy,” I blurt out, inching away. “You turned me into a girl,” Akina shouts, pushing himself away as well. “Wait,” I begin between my panicked panting, “did we share a dream?” “That depends,” Akina replies, “did you dream that I killed you because you wouldn’t apologize?” I dismiss him. I’m not gonna give him the pleasure of jumping on me just because I won’t give him an apology. What, is he going to ask me for a juice box next? Maybe a cookie and a diaper change while he’s at it? “Fffffhuh,” I huff, folding my arms and turning away from him. “So it was all a dream, then. That’s a relief.”
-
“No, it isn’t! What if that was a prophecy,” Akina frantically asks. I narrow my eyes. “What are you babbling about?” “What if that dream was telling us how this will all end, and we’re only moments away from it, now?!” “OR,” a shrill woman’s voice suggests, “what if it was a dream sent from a certain succubus to punish you two for STEALING HER ELIXIRS!” “Huh?” we both utter, whipping around to find Charkamorah sitting on the couch behind us with one leg crossed over the other. The little imp goes into a cackling fit of laughter, holding her hand to her mouth. “Mm-heheheh-haaaaaaaaaah, hehehehhehe-haaaa!” “Charkamorah,” Akina gasps. “Grrr,” I growl. “Put a sock in it, Scrappy! This is YOUR fault.” Giving a cruel smile, Charkamorah jumps down off the couch and sashays up to us. “Yes, yes, do blame your troubles on the imp. After all, it’s not like this imp warned you not to disrespect her… Oh, wait—she did!” Charky drops the humored act and folds her arms, sticking her hips out. “You boys have some nerve, stealing from me. Have you any idea what you could’ve done to my business?! I mean, just think about it: You guys steal all my elixirs, and how am I supposed to do business with my customers?” Akina’s head drops low. “We’re sorry, Charkamorah. We should never have stolen from you.” “No,” she corrects him, “YOU’RE sorry, but until I can hear it from Mr. Manners, I don’t believe that you’re both sorry, and I won’t be helping you in any way,” she says, turning her head away from us. “Just give me back my elixirs and I’ll decide on my own when I’m done haunting your dreams, if ever!” I grip my sides, exhaling hard while I’m deep in thought. If I don’t want to apologize to Akina, what makes her think I’ll apologize to her? I’m beneath no one that I have to get on my knees and beg of their forgiveness. I don’t need their approval. But, again, this stupid feeling in my gut and in my head makes me feel like the whole world is shaming me for what I’ve done. I sigh, muttering a reply. “I’m sorry.” Charky turns around and eyes me with her right eye, ears flicking about as she strains to hear me. “What’s that?” “I’m, sorry,” I stress, getting just a little bit louder. “You’re—‘starry’,” she teases, and I’m sure that she’s heard me the second time around. “Grrrrrr. I’M SORRY,” I yell. I take a deep breath and resume in a calmer tone. “I’m sorry that I stole from you, I’m sorry that I roped Akina into stealing from you, and I’m sorry that I caused you so much pain, Akina.”
-
Akina draws a blank look as Charkamorah turns back to face us. “Shiva,” Akina breathes, unable to find the words to finish.
“You apologized on behalf of yourself and your people when you Light Purged me, but I didn’t apologize for Darkening you, so…I’m sorry.”
Akina’s gaze softens as a warm smile forms on his face. “Shiva, you didn’t have to apologize.”
My ears droop as I look away in…we’ll find a name for this feeling I keep having. “But, aren’t you angry at me because I wouldn’t apologize?”
“Shiva Jimmu, I do not hold anything against you. I could not will myself to hold a grudge. You want to help me restore my White Magic, and I am thankful enough for that, even if you’re only doing it for your own relief.”
Akina finds his way over to me and places a hand on my shoulder, prompting me to redirect my eyes straight into his; and the feeling is weird as our gazes meet, but I can’t look away. “I know how hard it is to admit when we’re wrong. We all have trouble with it, sometimes. I was arrogant to think that all Darklings were killers who needed to be purged and corrected. I couldn’t see the damage I was doing to your people, but I get it now. I know that in the same way, you will one day understand your own damage, whether it be damage against me, my people, or even just someone’s feelings. So, I forgive you, Shiva—with or without your apology.”
Hearing Akina say this makes me wanna throw up, he’s being so sappy and nice. But, at the same time, I feel a weight off my shoulders and almost at peace. And I can feel my dark energy subsiding after raging ever since the day I Darkened Akina. I feel myself calm down and I don’t feel so on edge around him, anymore. I could almost say that I…don’t mind his presence, even.
“Ahe-hem,” Charky coughs. “That’s nice, that’s nice, but…my elixirs?” she reminds us. “Oh, r-right,”
Akina nervously laughs. He and I gather up the bottles, handing them back to Charky to pack in her sack. Akina then goes on to tell her of the elixirs we actually used, ending with the gesture to pay for them.
“Ah, don’t worry about it. You only used two, anyway,” she says, waving it off. “But, the Reversal elixir won’t work on Darkening,” Charkamorah states. “Darkening effects are too strong to be overpowered by a general reversal elixir. It has to be made special—like a purge elixir. And the thing is—purge elixirs are illegal to sell, here. However, guess who can make you one,” she finishes in a playful and mystifying voice.
Akina’s eyes brighten up. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course I would,” Charky replies. “I’m not a heartless meanie or anything.”
I sigh. “Maybe I misjudged you,” I lowly admit.
“Of course you did, you heartless meanie,” she teases.
“Rrrrrr…”
“Anyhoos, I’ll work on gathering the ingredients for you elixir, Akina, when I’m not busy. But, right now, I need to get to my stand; it’s almost time for me to open shop.”
Akina smiles. “Thank you again, Charky. How could we ever repay you?”
Charkamorah slings her sack over her back and turns to leave. “Well, you know, I COULD use help carrying all these elixirs to my shop,” she suggests.
Minutes later, I find myself carrying a sack of Charkamorah’s elixirs as she rides on my shoulder. I set the sack down next to her stand and she jumps off onto the counter. “There. We brought your elixirs to the store for you,” I huff.
“Good luck with your business,” Akina says.
Charkamorah smiles at him. “Thanks. See you, Angel. See ya, Shadow.”
“Don’t call me that,” I snap, turning around and walking away. As the two of us walk away, a cloaked figure stands across from the elixir stand, watching our departure with vigil, hazel eyes.
Later in the morning, the cloaked figure reports to a secluded throne room in a palace, removing her hood and letting her orange-ish-blond pigtails tumble down to meet her shoulders. She kneels before a silver-eyed man with a white mustache.
“Master Lumin,” Mei reports, “I have seen the fugitive Shiva Gazaki Jimmu with Prince Akina Kareen. They were speaking with the elixir merchant, Charkamorah Leftahdi in the kingdom of Keljor. They were at the Melehmuna market side."
“I see,” Lumin replies, folding his hands as he sits in a chair. “Investigate this Charkamorah and see what business she deals with Jimmu. Don’t let Shiva escape with our prince.”
“I won’t, Master.” Mei nods and brings herself to her feet, turning around and setting off once more, and as she exits the room, the doors utter a loud creak, shutting behind her…
The End
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