[KittenHunter]

username:
KittenHunter
name:
Loki
gender:
Male
story:
It looked so cold, Even which such a coat and body suit, you could tell it was cold. No one ever wanted to help it, Could never get near it. The creature wouldn't allow it. I didn't know if it was fear, shyness, or hatred that made the creature bolt anytime someone would go near. He hung around the outskirts of town, usually under a tree trying to sleep in the cold of the night or digging through garbage during the day. People left food, even I left food. But It never came near it.
Here I was, in the middle of the night thinking about some creature, a dirty homeless creature. Letting out a loud sigh I rose from my bed, glancing out the window and onto the cold street. It took me a moment to locate it, the dart of cloth as it ran between alleys. It still looked cold. Making up my mind, I grabbed a large coat, throwing it on over my pajamas and shoving my bare feet into some boots.
A few minutes of scouring through my closet for extra blankets I finally got three out and headed out, almost instantly before slammed into and taken down, blankets scattering and covering both me and my supposed attacker. It took me a moment to fight my way out of the blankets but when I did, I was surprised to see a naked dog like face staring up at me, the rest of it's body covering in two blankets. It looked to be glaring daggers at me but maybe that was just it's resting face since it slowly moved closer and placed it's head on my lap.
A hairless creature is nuzzling into my lap.... What do I do!? My mind screamed to do something and I slowly shifted away, the creature growling when it's pillow was taken before it yelped in shock as I started to pick it up, keeping the blankets around it and swaddling it. Now, Now I could tell it was mad. But I ignored it glaring at me in favor of picking up the last blanket and heading inside with it and the creature in my arms. Slowly placing it on the couch, I settled in next to it and laid my head on it's body, ignoring when it wiggled as if to get me away and pretended to be asleep until it fell asleep.
Looking at with gentle eyes, I reached up and stroked it's plain head," Don't worry, I'll keep you warm..." And then the world faded as I fell asleep.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm sorry that you look like a girl",I instantly regretted the words as Loki launched himself at me and tackled me to the floor, growling but tail wagging fast. I burst into laughter and squished his face, looking over his teeth to make sure they were okay before pushing him gently off me to stand,"Okay! I'm sorry!"
Loki let out a pleased gurgle before bumping into my legs, trotting off toward his food dish. My eyes rolled back in annoyance but I opened the fridge and took out some strawberries, putting them in his bowl and watching him scarf them down in a few seconds, before looking at me with a red stained smile that made me double over in laughter. He was so hard to handle... But he trusted me. And I loved him in return.

[sibylline,]

username; sibylline,
name; angel
gender; female
story;
As I closed the door to my car, I looked up at the salon. I pulled my sweater tighter to my
body, feeling the cool breeze flow past and around me. I walked up and pushed open the
door, hearing a bell ring signalling my entrance. A lady showed up and stood behind the
desk.

"Hello! How may I help you?" She gave me a large, probably fake smile. I shuffled up closer
to the desk.

"I, uh, have an appointment with Becky," I shifted my weight. I felt uneasy, felt like
someone was watching me. I glanced around the room, noticing a kalon wearing a sort of
hooded tunic dress. It definitely looked odd, but it seemed to fit her.

"Oh, Becky's very sick. I thought we phoned all her clients? Oh wait, here you are. Our
apologies," she looked back at the other kalon, "if you'd like, Angel, our newbie, could help
you today," I couldn't help but notice Angel tense up. She clearly dislikes the term newbie.
I studied her for a quick second. She looked pretty okay, definitely sleep-deprived. She
sported bags under her eyes and an all around tired demeanour.

"Sure. I don't see why not," I smiled at Angel, who gave me a face of slight shock before
smiling back. The lady behind the counter entered some stuff in to the computer and sent
me to follow Angel to Becky's chair.

"I didn't think you would agree to letting me cut your hair. Nobody has so far. I kind of blame
Cynth for always referring to me as the newbie," she quickly set everything up as I sat in the
chair.

"Yeah. I noticed how she seemed to doubt you," I leaned forward as she put the cover-up on
me, "I feel like you'll be great,"

"Thank you! I've done lots of practise so you should have nothing to worry about," she lightly
chuckled. It's hard to believe this girl was the same timid, tired girl from minutes ago. She
perked up and became chatty.

"Alright, so what are you going for today?" She stood behind me and touched my hair. My
hair's very short, so it needs to be cut pretty often or else it gets pretty crazy.

"I was actually going to ask Becky to teach me how to cut my own hair, could you do that?"

"Of course! I may not have any hair on my head but we'll figure it out," She laughed, causing
me to do the same. She handed me a spare pair of scissors.

She explained a bunch of basic techniques for cutting hair, allowing me to practise on myself.
It worked very well, and in the end I actually cut my own hair.

"You know Angel, you were amazing," I stood up after she took the cover-up off of me, "do
you have a social media I could follow?"

She gave me her instagram and facebook. We chat a lot to this day, actually. We sort of
clicked.

[silkteeth.]

username; flowereyes
name; paesho.
gender; feminine male.
story; stickers. turns out, buying cheap stickers and coating your kalon from head to toe with them.. well, isn't very clever. the pictures, sure, were cute but the aftermath.. yeah. out of both guilt, sympathy and.. okay, mostly guilt, you bring paesho a gift the next day. in your hands, a home made silk cloak, a few small intricate designs contrasting on the dark material. at first, he seems reluctant to take the cloak, perhaps because it was your fault for his.. 'balding issues.' yet after a few moments, he finally meets your eyes before gently taking the cloak from your hands.

you wrap the kalon up in the sleek material, and watch as his winsome gaze seems to become a little more upbeat. out of sheer excitement, he begins to wiggle his small tail – and as you pull the hood over his face, he pressed his nose to your head.

you're both thinking the same thing and you know it. out of your pocket, you reveal a sheet of glittering, dinosaur themed stickers and together, you slap them onto his new cloak.

the pictures looked even better this time.

art wip!

[smol panda]

username;Dubsteplolz

name; Merida

gender; Female

story; Merida recently was ran out of her old town for studying with magic and being accused of cursing the people. When in reality the town was riddled with hate, disease, and crime. She would deliver cures to the the villagers door steps she was too shy too, but they thought they were being cursed and got rid of the cures. Now she resides in a new town with nice people who don't believe in dark magic nor know what it is. So now she can do what she loves doing...

Sorry this story is short
But I think it matches very well....

[WolfOfTheYear]

username; WolfOfTheYear
name; Akuma No Chīsana Tenshi {Devil's Little Angel} {Goes by Aku and sometimes Ten}
gender; Male {Prefers They/Them}
story;
"They've always had a bad attitude to those who try to befriend them, mainly because he doesn't trust them and they think it's a trick to try and embarrass them, when in reality, it almost never is, but there have been incidents where their attitude saved them from horrid embarrassment. It is, indeed, tough to befriend them, like trying to befriend the devil.
Here's the story of how our friendship began:

I walked up to their doorstep. I gave a quiet knock, hoping they wouldn't hear, as I had been dared by some others to embarrass them, I didn't want to though. They seemed like a good Kalon. I nearly jumped as the door opened, my gosh it scared me so bad! They stared blankly at me. "What do you want from me, dork?" I was rather taken aback by being called a dork, especially since I was one of the coolest Kalons in town! "U-umm, can you step o-out here p-please?" "Why should I? Are you trying to embarrass me? Well, you aren't going to!" They slammed the door in my face and sent me flying down the steps and I tumbled straight into one of the Kalons who dared me to embarrass them. We continued tumbling until we hit a tree. I saw Ten looking at us and laughing, and it so happened everyone around was. I growled and stomped up to Ten. "What did you do that for, you jerk!" Ten growled at me and slapped me, his claws unsheathed. Blood dripped down my face. "What, are you afraid the tree damaged your royal butt? Wow, and I thought they were self centered!" I growled more and lunged at him, my claws unsheathed and teeth bared. "Why don't you try me, you hairless creep!" Ten smiled. "You're not as dorky as I thought." I growled and stepped off, my anger slowly ebbing away. Ten called after me, "Hey, maybe we could hang sometime. Maybe. If you don't run into any trees." I smiled. "I just gotta see what you do, so sure."
And that's how we became friends, and they still tease me about the tree."

[ArtisticDragon531]

Mark

[spirittai1]

username: spirittai1 | name: calantha (like a lovely blossom) | gender: nonbinary woman

story: (wip)

humid. dark. a damp forest with only the fewest drops of moonlight slipping through the leaves above, barely illuminating
the path below. rain falls from the sky, landing on leaf and underbrush, as well as the roof of a small structure set on the
edge of the forest; an inn, small, quaint, only the faintest hum of noise to be heard from it, presumably the voices of
kalons inside.

- out in the woods; an adventurer
- never stays in one place for too long
- criminal ? or possibly just afraid of something
- stays at inns when the weathers poor
- lives in a medieval fantasy world; similar to skyrim
- probably religious in some way
- wears a citrine & rose quartz necklace under her cloak - probably pink or gold/pale yellow
- maybe a witch ?
- make a moodboard for her
- run boy run
- dont add the last two things to the actual form !! no extras
- meet her in an inn in the woods while traveling between cities
- inn is attacked; she evacuates everyone using magic
- maybe magic is considered illegal?
- she disappears, wonder where she goes
- maybe a second story where "i" go looking for her ? --prob not
- owns a garden and does have a home (which is hidden & underground); only visits when shes sure shes alone
- probably not actually that scared of being caught? mostly fearful of the unknown despite her trust in fate

[cocoa]

i've been trying my hand at sort of mystery writing these past two entries ive made... i have no idea if im pulling it off or not

username; Colour54
name; Eudora meaning, "generous gift", Greek origin
gender; female
story;

There's a woman in town that nobody knows the name of; she has come through many times. There are not many like her, and even less so when you take in her appearance: hairless, always covered in her dark brown and black clothes, tightly kept together by a scrap of lighter fabric. The simplicity, or perhaps the excess of clothes and a hood always draw eyes. Often, she wears the same, except for when the wind is truly blowing a cold, winter wind from the north, and then she wears warm, yet drab, furs.

You live in the mountains of Hasnetania, in a place that doesn't quite belong to any country. Some would say it is the Kingdom of Aegnis, but another would insist it is now territory of the Vekar Empire with the Kingdom's thousand year absence; and, for another, the Qocuria Kingdom clearly holds precedence with their tribal scouts. You don't really mind for what kingdom you live in: all that matters is the town, small and peaceful and so close to the rich magic that the Kingdom of Aegnis hides, prospering thanks to the researchers that come to lodge here. Your shop, the only one in town, sells the majority of the goods your townspeople need: food, household items and repair supplies, and the occasional rare magic object for the wanderers.

When she comes to your store, she has always bought the same items: a plain cup, a cheap, mass-manufactured bow, and two weeks worth of food: there is no variation in the cans and packets she picks. You have no idea what she needs so many cups for, or why she keeps on buying the same colored bow. She always seems like she wants to touch the magic objects in the back, which always sets you on edge (it's not allowed as it can cause adverse reactions), no matter how well you know that she won't touch them. You can never quite catch her look as she turns away from the objects; you think that something in her eyes looks sharp, narrowed down to slits and tight between the brows -- but that emotion can't be right, can it?

She is always polite to a point and never says anything more than necessary. You would think her unkind, if it was not for her soft demeanor, and the way you saw her once help a man who had spilled his shopping cart's contents. But she is so very reserved; the most you ever know about her is what you can learn from her "You're welcome"s and "Thank you"s, and the way her ears or nose twitch in interest towards a certain sound or smell. You know she never stays in town for longer than a night. But, no matter how sharp anyone's eyes are, they never know when she leaves, or where she goes.

There are sometimes whispers of her. Sometimes you see that she notices the gossiping couple in the corner; her expression changes so minutely you wouldn't have noticed if you weren't such an avid observer. Perhaps she is bothered, you think, with the particular crumple between the ridges of her eyes.

Sometimes, you pause and wonder at how you know so much yet so little about this stranger. You can hardly remember for how long they have been coming; has it been five years? They must be twenty; twenty-five, maybe, but for all you've seen them, you've barely exchanged more than pleastarites.

You are curious, and want to know more of this mysterious kalon that comes to your obscure mountain village.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There comes a week that breaks pattern, suddenly, after so long. The nameless kalon buys three cups, no ribbons, twice as much food, and a bow and some arrows. She appears to be no different, and if you hadn't been seeing her for years at your store, you wouldn't notice the way she holds herself with stiff limbs. It is at the end of your shift when she comes, just before closing time, another strange fact upon a litany: she typically comes just after lunch, and your break.

She leaves in measured steps, and you are quick to serve the last, straggling customer and close down shop. You run out, and hope to find the woman. She is shuffling through her satchel at the alleyway next to shop, so you come up to her and ask, "Are you alright?"

Its the most personal thing you've ever asked her, and she looks up sharply. Her eyes narrow a fraction before relaxing and a polite smile comes to her lips. "I'm just fine, thank you." You can tell it's a lie: her limbs are still tense, and her eyes stare forward, at a point past your head. So you kneel beside her, and look at her cups.

"Why do you always buy these?" You ask, pointing at the cups. She says nothing, so you wait. Your silence seems to comfort her, as her limbs loose their stiffness some, and her paws resume organizing her satchel. There is no sign of anything but the items she bought today and a file full to the brim of papers, neaty packed. She carefully adjusts the satchel back over her shoulder and stares at you momentarily. Her eyes were unnerving; it was as if she was searching your face for some proof of trust.

A deep breath, then - "My name is Eudora." You blink in surprise at the unexpected answer to a question that you have wondered over for years. Eudora then pulls a sheaf of paper out from under her cape and hands it to you. You open it, and all it says is a set of coordinates. You know them: it is along the border of the Kingdom of Aegnis. "Come there if I don't return." Then she pauses, and for a glorious moment, seems to lose all pretenses. "Don't betray this, shopkeeper." She is threatening, and her eyes are sharp: Eudora, you think, that would be her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She does not return after two weeks, so you go on a journey.

You ask your friend to keep up shop for you for the week. You fill a pack with a change of clothes, enough food to last and the same cups Eudora had strangely bought for years. However, you do not bring any ribbons.

It takes you a day to reach the coordinates. It a strange sight, unlike anything you've seen on the border of the Kingdom of Aegnis before: remneants of burned plastic seem to scar the ground, and a well of ribbons seem to fly in the air in the space of the border, where the shimmering wall of dark magic holds, a seeming void of darkness. But these ribbons: they seemed to sit within the border in a way that would be impossible for you (touching the border normally would result in a slight sting and the feel of a fuzzy wall). Objects did not, should not be able to pass through. You sit, confused, until you press a hand to the ribbons. Your hand falls through and you freeze, astonished.

It must have been a strange, strange experiment Eudora had held here. What kind of magic could possibly use cups and ribbons? It seemed as if she had enchanted the ribbons with magic, but the process of enchanting was thought impossible, unless one owned a special charm. But Eudora could be hiding anything under her clothes.

You shake off the strangeness. You know Eudora -- or think you do. At the heart, she is kind, you think. So you make a decision, and walk through the ribbons that flutter in the unnatural magic breeze.

You walk: he light fades to pitch black, and then, the feel of cheap fabric ribbons stops brushing against your arms, and the rough surface of scarred, melted plastic stops. At your feet: dirt; above you, millions of stars, so many yet unnaturally dim; around you, sparkling blue lights and in the air, rich, rich, magic that fills your lungs. Blue glowing mushrooms are scattered in clumps among the dull blades of grass, and some strange green moss hangs from what appears to be a crumbled cobblestone. You think, in the strange darkness and open, wild, alien world that has suddenly appeared before you, that it is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen.

"You," a sharp voice calls, one you know well and untempered by caution. "I'm half surprised you're here." You can barely see anything except for her face and paws, the white which stands out better in the dark.

"How are we here?" Eudora's ears twitch back at that question, her limbs carefully shifting inwards. She is hesitant, you can tell. You then choose to ask: "Why am I here?"

Eudora is more comfortable with answering that question, as she stretches forward and says, "Because you are the only person I know." You think that is strange, because you really don't know her at all, but you don't say anything at the almost fearful glint in her eye. She doesn't want to be abandoned, you think, and then you wonder, does she have any family? Friends?

"I understand," you reply, and Eudora fully calms, taking a moment to adjust the placement of her hood and tie.

You are not quite sure why she continues on to tell you what she did. Perhaps it is the magic of standing in a lost land, the way it feels everything is a dream, and will surely disappear. Perhaps it is the thrill of it, as if standing somewhere forbidden. Perhaps she has no-one else to explain it to, and in her own self-imposed isolation, wanted to talk for the moment.

So talk Eudora does. "I have wanted to get here for five years. Many before me have tried and failed. I wanted to be better than them." Her eyes are shaded, dark, under the cover of her hood. "I filled cups with the most potent magic I could find. Wells and stardust, mostly."

"Not magic objects?" You ask, wondering about all the times she looked.

"N-no," and suddenly she is wary again, caught off-guard. But she continues nonetheless. "That's what everyone else tries. It doesn't work." Eudora has the same look on her face that you have seen many times before, looking at the items in the back of the shop. It makes you feel phantom nerves.

Then she shakes out of it; brightens. "Concentrated magic works. It burns at the fuzz you feel, the god's magic. I enchant the ribbons to take up their place. But, as you could probably guess, the magic burns straight through the cups just as much. But the plastic magic goop created helps, in replacement."

You stare. "So, you spent five years, tunnelling a hole in a magic wall."

Eudora stares hard back at you, judging. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Only rich researchers with nothing better to do come here to try what I did. They always fail, because they think fancy formulas and poking sticks at a wall will make something happen. They're all searching for the same thing -- the glory of re-discovering a thousand year lost kingdom. Imagine! Imagine the glory, the headlines. And then imagine the armies that will come to this doorstep, only to realize in the end that this kingdom is one far more dystopian than our own."

You look around you. All you see is a mystic beauty. "Dystopian...?" you prompt, kindly. It seems that Eudora likes the opportunity to explain things that has kept bottled up for so long.

"Indeed! Can you not feel it? The dark, terrible energy? Monsters reside here. Terrible monsters, more terrible than anything we could ever know of, more powerful than our magic-less minds. We rely on old charms and the dredges of magic in the Earth. The people here? It runs in their veins; they breathe fire, control the wind, the water, and the earth! What glory! What great forces that will kill Hasnetania, corrupt their minds and burn their skin off their bones."

You never thought Eudora could hold such passion. She always seemed so restrained.

"I have been here for a week before you came," she continued, shifting to look at the far off sky, the edge of which appeared to be a shade lighter, like the coming of dawn. "The dawn never comes. But I did some measurements, and according to my calculations, on the other side of this kingdom, the dusk never comes either. Most of the residents are near the center of the kingdom, I believe; more on the light side. There is conflict, I can tell. Civil war perhaps."

"Alright," you acknowledge, "so what?" Eudora tenses at the challenge, searching your eyes before deciding that you are not really seeking to antagonize, but to help her realize something. She chooses to go with it.

"I'll close this entrance and stop anyone from trying to make another," Eudora concluded. "It is not worth the conflict." Silently, you agree, but something in her eyes make you speak.

"Just what is it that led you here?"

Now, that question, Eudora does not answer. "We're leaving," and she neatly takes you by the hand and leads you through the ribbons again. You wonder why Eudora even asked you to come if she could have simply left by walking out the door she made.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You don't see her again for a week, having returned to your job at the shopkeep. But oh, you wonder, but don't say a word. People still gossip of who she could be.

Nobody but you know her name.

Eventually, she comes to the shop as if nothing has happened. But today, she buys a clay pot. Her eyes seem to be challenging you to say something as you check her item out. It is just after your lunch break, so you cannot follow her as she leaves.

It is not until the end of your shift you realize she has left you a note. Another set of coordinates. You pack a water bottle, some snacks, and a map before leaving.

At the location is a small shack. You find Eudora in the back, silently poting a glowing mushroom. "What are you doing?" You ask.

"I'm gardening," she says, and nothing more.

"But you are a researcher."

"No. I'm not much of anything," she says, quietly in response. Her paw absently strokes the flesh of the mushroom, as if admiring the luminsicent glow. You lean forward, concerned, eyes watching. She speaks. "Your earlier question.. I wonder that myself sometimes. What brought me here? To smite those other researchers?" Eudora then laughs. You have never heard her laugh: it is bitter, and croaks, as if she rarely does.

"I... It's been years since I left my family. I wanted to be a researcher, I wanted to find glory, just like the rest. But I never did - until now, I guess you could say." She pauses. "My parents didn't want me leaving the house much. Didn't want me to get sunburned, to get too cold. Which is stupid, I'm an adult. But I apparently cried a lot as a child, and that convinced them that I was weak. So I left, greedy for freedom and acknowledgement." Another pause, longer this time. You nearly thought they were not going to speak any more. "But on the streets, with little money, no one thought anything of me. And when they did, they looked down at me. Whispered about the strange kalon with no fur. I began to walk with my hood up, but it seemed to draw even more glances. I was too reserved for them to think otherwise of me. I was just nothing, and I felt so damn empty."

Eudora smoothes the dirt around the unique mushroom. "I like this," she murmurs, taking the pot inside to place it in a darker room. The glow is more prominent there. "I wanted some proof to myself of my success. But it's similar enough to some of Uyaepitor's flora that any bystander won't think too much." She sighs, then. "I'm tired of talking so much, but I'm glad. I'm glad there's someone to listen to my troubles," she says, turning to face you. Her eyes sparkle.

"Thank you," you reply. It's the same phrase you've said to this kalon for years, every time she has come to buy from your shop. It is familiar, and you can tell it comforts Eudora.

"You're welcome," she replies, and you are sure that is all you need to know, all you need to be. A human who can hear and listen and say just that, simple and short and enough to say, you are not alone, and your story is not just yours to bear/i].

You are glad, because they are glad -- and because, in the din of a hundred interactions repeated and repeated and so carefully listened to, you think, [i]that is what friends are for.


mjhlakhpa sorry if that didn't make much sense i honestly dont know how to feel about what i just wrote lmao.
good luck to all other entrants!

[naumachy]

ends at midday [12pm est!]

[néktar]

rip not gonna finish curse you school but good luck everyone !!!