NaNoWriMo part 8
I got my
yuletide assignment. :DDDDD (I have been refreshing like crazy, haha) My recipient is someone whose letter I bookmarked! Whoot! Except, my brain is going, "epic fic!" which is not possible for me, no way. XD; Must think of some plausible oneshot. Well, can't say anything more than this, but I'll be rereading the canon come December. Must focus on NaNo right now. Ahhhh. So stuck with my NaNo story.
Another widget. *shakes her hand at those 5 days in the beginning of the month* If not for those days, I wouldn't be stressing so much right now.

Part 8 ~1,889 words
RYKATU
When night fell, Rykatu found himself a few sturdy trees to rest against for the night. It would have been much smarter to set out in the morning - it would have meant one less night spent out in the open - but he had wanted to leave as early as possible. He ended up eating as he walked, glad that Tekatme had forced some bread on him before he left. Tekatme certainly thought ahead when it came to food. Rykatu wondered if perhaps he could get a hearth of some sorts built in his home so that he could enjoy bread once in a while. He quickly dismissed the idea since he hadn't a clue how to make bread.
He leaned against one of the trees and looked up. He couldn't see the sky at all with how thick the trees grew. He breathed into his hands to warm them up and took a look at his surroundings.
The forest the second time around was still quiet and eerie and completely motionless, with not an animal in sight. It wasn't just because the animals were wary because he was a dragon like he had thought - there didn't seem to be much life in the forest to start with. He thought it probably had something to do with how the forest was manmade, its growth accelerated by plant magic, destroying the natural biome that previously existed there. The entire valley Veline shared with the outskirts of the dragon tribe's territory used to be barren until the forest magically sprang into existence. Even now, Rykatu still had a hard time remembering the forest existed at all. His memory always went back to the time when the barren land stretched on and on as far as he could see, giving him the illusion that nothing existed out beyond the dragon tribe's territory. He now knew that wasn't the case, not when there was such a lively village beyond the forest.
When the leaves rustled, Rykatu narrowed his eyes, but he was actually glad. He didn't know if it was the wind or some wild animal, but it soothed him to hear something, anything. The silence was too thick. He kept alert in case this was another ambush, but at this point, he would have even welcomed someone to try.
He exhaled and tried to relax. Although his stay in Veline had been short, being surrounded by people hadn't felt too bad. In a sense, it had been comforting to be in a place where people didn't know who he was or how he was usually treated. He had been stared at, but at least those stares had been curious instead of hostile.
He hugged his legs close to himself and tried to sleep.
----
He placed one foot in front of him and then another.
When he felt his eyes closing, he shook his head to stay awake. He looked up and continued on.
His trip back was taking much too long. He was more tired than he had thought since he hadn't rested properly, but that wasn't going to stop him from forging ahead.
He was almost home.
The path was slightly sloped. That meant he was already at the outskirts of his tribe's territory where the path was only going to get steeper. He started to climb, his legs aching, but the thought of seeing his mother kept him moving.
Rykatu had had a hard time deciding what to buy for his mother as a souvenir. A comb for her fiery mane, or a necklace for her so that she could wear one of their black crystals around her neck? In the end, after he picked up his sharpened knife, he settled on a simple golden chain that he thought would suit his mother well and bring out the vibrant color of her yellow eyes. They could have their smith attach a piece of black crystal to the chain afterwards. It sounded perfect for her.
He swung the chain in front of him, remembering Tekatme's curious glance when he paid the shop owner for it. His escort hadn't asked about the necklace and probably just took it as one of Rykatu's whims. Rykatu kind of wondered if Tekatme had any family he cared for. He swung the chain up, watching it shimmer in the sun, and caught it in his hand.
Rykatu bet his mother would love Veline. Perhaps he could visit the village again someday, this time together with his mother. He remembered the black cat he had petted, the breathtaking fountain that he'd made a wish at, the delicious bread that had warmed his hands, and even the easy camaraderie between Tekatme and his captain. His mother would no doubt be delighted by all there was to see and experience in Veline. He could imagine her laughing freely, barging in through the crowd to buy bread for both of them, thumping Veline's second-in-command on the back, telling him to man up. She would fit right in, and Veline's second-in-command could surely learn a trick or two from her about how to appear commanding. He had a feeling Tekatme and his mother would get along well, especially if they teamed up against him. He didn't know if he wanted that to happen.
As Rykatu continued to climb upward, one step at a time, he noticed something that was making his senses tingle. He cocked his head to the side and tried to minimize his breathing so he could hear better.
It was too quiet.
He shaded his eyes and looked up. The sun was still high in the air. That meant everyone was supposed to be out and about, training and doing their jobs. At this point of the day, many of the older dragons should be out mining. He should at least hear the beating of their wings. His mother always took this time to instruct the younger dragons in the art of fire, so there should be faint voices chanting after her, as well as other chatter from the tribe. Even if none of them were doing any of these things, he should hear the ruffle of their clothing as they walked, the scratches of their claws against the ground if they decided to transform. Yet Rykatu could hear nothing. The absence of those everyday sounds made his skin crawl.
Something was wrong.
It was too quiet, just like the eerie manmade forest he had traveled through, but this was his tribe's territory. This was no manmade forest.
He hurried his steps, almost tripping over a jutted rock. He should transform, but he couldn't, not when he was so agitated. His breath was coming out in short gasps from his lack of oxygen - a short few days shouldn't have decreased his lung capacity despite the lower altitude of the village - but this climb was tough, and he couldn't breathe.
He had only been away for a few days. That wasn't enough time for anything to happen. Shouldn't be enough time for anything to happen. It couldn't be. The target wasn't him, but his mother? Had it all been a diversion? What about the rest of the tribe? They should be fine. It shouldn't be this quiet. Something wasn't adding up. He should have transformed and flown to Veline no matter how taxing it'd have been. He should have demanded to see the leader of Veline right away without wasting his time in the village. He should have traveled on even without sleep.
He should have never left on the trip when everything inside of him had been screaming that the elders were up to no good, that it wasn't smart to leave his mother by herself.
When he burst out on top of the cliff, he suddenly couldn't support himself anymore.
He fell to his knees and gasped for air, heaving but still feeling like he was going to suffocate.
What was going on? He didn't understand.
Blood. The smell of blood was everywhere.
"Mother."
He pulled himself up.
"Mother!"
He stumbled forward.
"MOTHER!"
His leg almost twisted, but he managed not to fall in his hurry to reach the cave he shared with his mother. She had to be all right. She had to be. But when their cave came into view, all color left Rykatu's face. He slowed down and stared.
Blood. There was so much blood, too much blood. The ground outside their cave was dyed red, the walls splattered with the same.
It couldn't all be his mother's. There was too much. He refused to believe it was even his mother's.
Rykatu stared and stepped forward, inching towards his cave.
His voice had died in his throat. His mind was shouting at him that something was wrong.
The moment he stepped into the dark cave, the sunlight falling away, he felt a blast of fire erupt in front of him. He threw out a shield of ice, but it wasn't enough. The fire was scorching and painful and that meant this was a trap after all, but his mother, where was she? It was stupid of him to walk in blindly when his senses were telling him something was wrong, but his mother, he had to know if she was all right.
A scream tore out of his throat from the heat. He reached in and sent his magic out, ice extending from below his feet to incase the walls. The heat immediately melted his ice, the water evaporating entirely before it even touched the ground. The heat was too intense. His ice wasn't strong enough against fire, not in this confined space, not when they had been waiting to ambush him.
This was a trap. The perfect trap. He stepped backward and blasted whatever was in front of him with ice, but it was useless.
The curls of flames continued hurtling towards him, illuminating the cave. There, at the end of the cave, was a body.
He felt himself turn cold.
No.
He stumbled backwards when what he really wanted to do was to rush forward. He needed to find out, but the fire, the fire kept pushing him back, and his body was telling him to run.
He continued backing up until he came to the edge of the cliff, tiny bits of rock breaking off from the edges. He saw a glimpse of dark, auburn hair appear from the cave, heard wicked peals of laughter before fire blasted at him in the face, melting the ice he had thrown out in protection.
The rocks crumbled. One misstep. Another blast.
"This is the perfect curse for you."
Female. One of the elders?
He felt something hit him in the chest, stealing all his breath.
Laughter.
He fell, the ground disappearing from his feet.
----
When he woke up, he didn't know where he was. His head ached. His chest ached. He felt tired and depleted and confused.
He didn't know where he was.
In fact, he didn't know who he was either.
Red eyes stared at him. He stared back.
"You awake?" asked a lilting female voice.
He groaned and brought a hand up to the back of his head. It hurt.
"Who...am I?" he gasped out, his voice hoarse.
"...Rykatu. That's your name."
He blinked and turned the name around. Rykatu. That didn't sound familiar at all.
He closed his eyes, falling unconscious once again.
END PROLOGUE. =P Terrible ending is terrible. This would be where we finally get into the actual story, haha, (imagine music and intro credits rolling...), but what the heck, right? It took 26k to get to this point. No way I'm going to write more than 25k in the last few days of November for whatever crazy plot I've planned. I kind of feel like this story is unraveling. -___-;;
I got to this part (which is TERRIBLY written) and was rejoicing because finally! And then after this part, I started writing these other characters that I tossed to the side in favor of focusing on Rykatu and Tekatme since I felt like I was trying to focus on too many different things all at once, juggling all these characters, but now I can't get into their minds at all. I almost feel like going, forget them!! And return to writing Tekatme and Rykatu since I'm much more familiar with them now. (Another 25k on the two? Probably doable! I could write another 25k just on Tekatme's travels even though that wasn't my point at all, which is why I kicked him out of town. *snorts*). I can't decide who the heck to focus on now. I thought it'd work out nicely if I focused on two people for each part of the story (this first part was Rykatu and Tekatme, so the next part would be two other characters, but with both Tekatme and Rykatu still around in the background). But...I started writing and felt like I was writing a completely different story. *headdesk*
So, I don't know when I'll post the next scene, since right now I'm writing a bunch of random scenes with random characters, and none of these scenes fit together cohesively, hahaha. XD; This is like a puzzle with a lot of missing pieces. -___-;; Maybe I'll be able to write 50k even if nothing seems to go together, hahaha.
So dooooomed. Horrible block.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
Another widget. *shakes her hand at those 5 days in the beginning of the month* If not for those days, I wouldn't be stressing so much right now.

Part 8 ~1,889 words
RYKATU
When night fell, Rykatu found himself a few sturdy trees to rest against for the night. It would have been much smarter to set out in the morning - it would have meant one less night spent out in the open - but he had wanted to leave as early as possible. He ended up eating as he walked, glad that Tekatme had forced some bread on him before he left. Tekatme certainly thought ahead when it came to food. Rykatu wondered if perhaps he could get a hearth of some sorts built in his home so that he could enjoy bread once in a while. He quickly dismissed the idea since he hadn't a clue how to make bread.
He leaned against one of the trees and looked up. He couldn't see the sky at all with how thick the trees grew. He breathed into his hands to warm them up and took a look at his surroundings.
The forest the second time around was still quiet and eerie and completely motionless, with not an animal in sight. It wasn't just because the animals were wary because he was a dragon like he had thought - there didn't seem to be much life in the forest to start with. He thought it probably had something to do with how the forest was manmade, its growth accelerated by plant magic, destroying the natural biome that previously existed there. The entire valley Veline shared with the outskirts of the dragon tribe's territory used to be barren until the forest magically sprang into existence. Even now, Rykatu still had a hard time remembering the forest existed at all. His memory always went back to the time when the barren land stretched on and on as far as he could see, giving him the illusion that nothing existed out beyond the dragon tribe's territory. He now knew that wasn't the case, not when there was such a lively village beyond the forest.
When the leaves rustled, Rykatu narrowed his eyes, but he was actually glad. He didn't know if it was the wind or some wild animal, but it soothed him to hear something, anything. The silence was too thick. He kept alert in case this was another ambush, but at this point, he would have even welcomed someone to try.
He exhaled and tried to relax. Although his stay in Veline had been short, being surrounded by people hadn't felt too bad. In a sense, it had been comforting to be in a place where people didn't know who he was or how he was usually treated. He had been stared at, but at least those stares had been curious instead of hostile.
He hugged his legs close to himself and tried to sleep.
----
He placed one foot in front of him and then another.
When he felt his eyes closing, he shook his head to stay awake. He looked up and continued on.
His trip back was taking much too long. He was more tired than he had thought since he hadn't rested properly, but that wasn't going to stop him from forging ahead.
He was almost home.
The path was slightly sloped. That meant he was already at the outskirts of his tribe's territory where the path was only going to get steeper. He started to climb, his legs aching, but the thought of seeing his mother kept him moving.
Rykatu had had a hard time deciding what to buy for his mother as a souvenir. A comb for her fiery mane, or a necklace for her so that she could wear one of their black crystals around her neck? In the end, after he picked up his sharpened knife, he settled on a simple golden chain that he thought would suit his mother well and bring out the vibrant color of her yellow eyes. They could have their smith attach a piece of black crystal to the chain afterwards. It sounded perfect for her.
He swung the chain in front of him, remembering Tekatme's curious glance when he paid the shop owner for it. His escort hadn't asked about the necklace and probably just took it as one of Rykatu's whims. Rykatu kind of wondered if Tekatme had any family he cared for. He swung the chain up, watching it shimmer in the sun, and caught it in his hand.
Rykatu bet his mother would love Veline. Perhaps he could visit the village again someday, this time together with his mother. He remembered the black cat he had petted, the breathtaking fountain that he'd made a wish at, the delicious bread that had warmed his hands, and even the easy camaraderie between Tekatme and his captain. His mother would no doubt be delighted by all there was to see and experience in Veline. He could imagine her laughing freely, barging in through the crowd to buy bread for both of them, thumping Veline's second-in-command on the back, telling him to man up. She would fit right in, and Veline's second-in-command could surely learn a trick or two from her about how to appear commanding. He had a feeling Tekatme and his mother would get along well, especially if they teamed up against him. He didn't know if he wanted that to happen.
As Rykatu continued to climb upward, one step at a time, he noticed something that was making his senses tingle. He cocked his head to the side and tried to minimize his breathing so he could hear better.
It was too quiet.
He shaded his eyes and looked up. The sun was still high in the air. That meant everyone was supposed to be out and about, training and doing their jobs. At this point of the day, many of the older dragons should be out mining. He should at least hear the beating of their wings. His mother always took this time to instruct the younger dragons in the art of fire, so there should be faint voices chanting after her, as well as other chatter from the tribe. Even if none of them were doing any of these things, he should hear the ruffle of their clothing as they walked, the scratches of their claws against the ground if they decided to transform. Yet Rykatu could hear nothing. The absence of those everyday sounds made his skin crawl.
Something was wrong.
It was too quiet, just like the eerie manmade forest he had traveled through, but this was his tribe's territory. This was no manmade forest.
He hurried his steps, almost tripping over a jutted rock. He should transform, but he couldn't, not when he was so agitated. His breath was coming out in short gasps from his lack of oxygen - a short few days shouldn't have decreased his lung capacity despite the lower altitude of the village - but this climb was tough, and he couldn't breathe.
He had only been away for a few days. That wasn't enough time for anything to happen. Shouldn't be enough time for anything to happen. It couldn't be. The target wasn't him, but his mother? Had it all been a diversion? What about the rest of the tribe? They should be fine. It shouldn't be this quiet. Something wasn't adding up. He should have transformed and flown to Veline no matter how taxing it'd have been. He should have demanded to see the leader of Veline right away without wasting his time in the village. He should have traveled on even without sleep.
He should have never left on the trip when everything inside of him had been screaming that the elders were up to no good, that it wasn't smart to leave his mother by herself.
When he burst out on top of the cliff, he suddenly couldn't support himself anymore.
He fell to his knees and gasped for air, heaving but still feeling like he was going to suffocate.
What was going on? He didn't understand.
Blood. The smell of blood was everywhere.
"Mother."
He pulled himself up.
"Mother!"
He stumbled forward.
"MOTHER!"
His leg almost twisted, but he managed not to fall in his hurry to reach the cave he shared with his mother. She had to be all right. She had to be. But when their cave came into view, all color left Rykatu's face. He slowed down and stared.
Blood. There was so much blood, too much blood. The ground outside their cave was dyed red, the walls splattered with the same.
It couldn't all be his mother's. There was too much. He refused to believe it was even his mother's.
Rykatu stared and stepped forward, inching towards his cave.
His voice had died in his throat. His mind was shouting at him that something was wrong.
The moment he stepped into the dark cave, the sunlight falling away, he felt a blast of fire erupt in front of him. He threw out a shield of ice, but it wasn't enough. The fire was scorching and painful and that meant this was a trap after all, but his mother, where was she? It was stupid of him to walk in blindly when his senses were telling him something was wrong, but his mother, he had to know if she was all right.
A scream tore out of his throat from the heat. He reached in and sent his magic out, ice extending from below his feet to incase the walls. The heat immediately melted his ice, the water evaporating entirely before it even touched the ground. The heat was too intense. His ice wasn't strong enough against fire, not in this confined space, not when they had been waiting to ambush him.
This was a trap. The perfect trap. He stepped backward and blasted whatever was in front of him with ice, but it was useless.
The curls of flames continued hurtling towards him, illuminating the cave. There, at the end of the cave, was a body.
He felt himself turn cold.
No.
He stumbled backwards when what he really wanted to do was to rush forward. He needed to find out, but the fire, the fire kept pushing him back, and his body was telling him to run.
He continued backing up until he came to the edge of the cliff, tiny bits of rock breaking off from the edges. He saw a glimpse of dark, auburn hair appear from the cave, heard wicked peals of laughter before fire blasted at him in the face, melting the ice he had thrown out in protection.
The rocks crumbled. One misstep. Another blast.
"This is the perfect curse for you."
Female. One of the elders?
He felt something hit him in the chest, stealing all his breath.
Laughter.
He fell, the ground disappearing from his feet.
----
When he woke up, he didn't know where he was. His head ached. His chest ached. He felt tired and depleted and confused.
He didn't know where he was.
In fact, he didn't know who he was either.
Red eyes stared at him. He stared back.
"You awake?" asked a lilting female voice.
He groaned and brought a hand up to the back of his head. It hurt.
"Who...am I?" he gasped out, his voice hoarse.
"...Rykatu. That's your name."
He blinked and turned the name around. Rykatu. That didn't sound familiar at all.
He closed his eyes, falling unconscious once again.
END PROLOGUE. =P Terrible ending is terrible. This would be where we finally get into the actual story, haha, (imagine music and intro credits rolling...), but what the heck, right? It took 26k to get to this point. No way I'm going to write more than 25k in the last few days of November for whatever crazy plot I've planned. I kind of feel like this story is unraveling. -___-;;
I got to this part (which is TERRIBLY written) and was rejoicing because finally! And then after this part, I started writing these other characters that I tossed to the side in favor of focusing on Rykatu and Tekatme since I felt like I was trying to focus on too many different things all at once, juggling all these characters, but now I can't get into their minds at all. I almost feel like going, forget them!! And return to writing Tekatme and Rykatu since I'm much more familiar with them now. (Another 25k on the two? Probably doable! I could write another 25k just on Tekatme's travels even though that wasn't my point at all, which is why I kicked him out of town. *snorts*). I can't decide who the heck to focus on now. I thought it'd work out nicely if I focused on two people for each part of the story (this first part was Rykatu and Tekatme, so the next part would be two other characters, but with both Tekatme and Rykatu still around in the background). But...I started writing and felt like I was writing a completely different story. *headdesk*
So, I don't know when I'll post the next scene, since right now I'm writing a bunch of random scenes with random characters, and none of these scenes fit together cohesively, hahaha. XD; This is like a puzzle with a lot of missing pieces. -___-;; Maybe I'll be able to write 50k even if nothing seems to go together, hahaha.
So dooooomed. Horrible block.