[SkywardtheDragon]

Username: Skywardthedragon
Name: Adhari
Biological gender: Female
Go crazy (2k words and 4 art pieces max):

You’ve arrived at a tribe of Viscets, looking for a room to stay the night and a filling meal before you leave on your journey. You check into a small inn, stuff your suitcase into your room, and go out to talk to the inkeeper.

The inkeeper that greets you is an old Viscet, with graying tips and a bald nose. You ask him about tourism options in the area, and he gives a rough laugh. “You’re already foolish to stop by here. No business with any sense sets up shop here, it’s practically a death wish!”

Did you just walk into a horror movie setting...?

—-

There's a small grocery just across from the inn. It’s a dull gray, with dim orange lighting and without windows. Inside is plenty of fresh produce, but no packaged goods or frozen foods. Rather confused, you walk up to the only cashier, blue-gray in coloring. “Where is the packaged food?”

“You should know well enough we don’t get those kinds of shipments anymore. No pup in their right mind will send food to us, here,” the grocer practically growls. “All we got is what I grow.”

This explanation only serves to confuse you more.

—-

You head back to the inn and pay enough stubs for another night’s stay, and the inkeeper looks rather concerned. “Look, I’d recommend you pack up and leave as soon as possible. Tonight will be bad. Tomorrow, maybe less so. I know we’re in the middle of nowhere, and if you leave you might see her.”

“Who are you talking about?” You ask. Perhaps, this will explain exactly why everything is strange.

“There’s a viscet out there. Wild. Uncivilized. She wears scraps for clothing and eats raw meat. She kills Mara’s cows when they’re let out, and she’ll probably kill us someday too. Only thing stopping her is that she’s scared of us. You still want to stay?”

You nod.

—-

Perhaps, waiting outside for a savage Viscet was not your smartest plan. You tried to open the patio door to go back into your room, but it appears you accidentally locked it. You could probably break down the door with some effort, but then you’d have to pay to replace it.

Instead, you sit on a wicker chair and wait for any sign of this mysterious beast. The moon is only half-showing, but the stars and the porch lamp are bright enough that you can see. In contrast to the dreary town, the back of the inn leads into a deep and wild forest. You count the minutes that pass and wait.

Suddenly, you hear a rustle. You perk up from your half-asleep state and focus on where the sound came from. There she is!

The wild viscet is a russet brown, with fiery red patches. Like the inkeeper described, the only clothing she wore was a ragged scarf that looked like it was made of feed-sack. She sniffed the ground, following an unknown trail, then she looked directly at you.

You freeze. In the haze of panic, all you can think of doing is giving a slight wave and an awkward smile.

The Viscet runs up to you and starts sniffing. You stand there, not knowing what to do, until she pulls back. “You smell alright. Not like them.”

“Who’s them? And why shouldn’t I smell like them?”

“Them! They hurt me, they call me wild and uncivilized. I hurt them, I scare everyone away.” The Viscet hisses.

“You mean, the townsfolk?”

“That what you call them?” The Viscet looks confused, and you decide to change topics.

“Anyway, what’s your name?”

“Adhari! Adhari the greatest!” She gives a toothy grin, showing off sharpened and chipped fangs. You decide at this point that you don’t want to make an enemy of her.

“Adhari, would you like to travel with me? I’m going on a long trip to find my family, and I need a companion. I won’t hurt you, and you’ll feel welcomed.”

On hearing this, Adhari breaks into an even bigger grin than before, and nearly tackles you with excitement. “Of course! Of course!”

—-

The morning afterwards, you cancel your second day at the inn. The inkeeper laughs. “Guess you couldn’t face that beast, huh? I don’t blame you.”

You shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much,”

With your luggage on your back, you head to the outskirts of town, a bright Viscet on your heels.

[~Teya~]

Ending tomorrow. ^^

[bandgeekizzle]

Username: bandgeekizzle

Name: Xochiki (zō-chēkē)

Biological gender: Female

Go crazy (2k words and 4 art pieces max): (if i have time today, i'd like to add a picture or two)


"Good morning, Feather-Cheeks!"
Xochiki flinched as her paws immediately went up to her face. Wasn't it way too early for Micah to get here? Xochiki had been specifically waking up early in order to slip into the school unnoticed, but today's torment had started before she could even enter the building.
She awkwardly arranged her arms around her head in what she hoped looked like a normal, relaxed pose.
"I was just heading to class early…" She muttered quietly.
"Yeah, I haven't been seeing these in the morning lately," said Micah as she touched the feathers on Xochiki's elbow. Covering the feathers on her face was useless after all.
"Well, I was just going," Xochiki squeaked out in desperation.
She turned tail and ran to school.
Micah stood in the dust, with a crooked grin on her face.
"Funny girl."

Xochiki slinked into the classroom with a miserable look on her face. All she wanted was to be normal but her bright orange feathers, which nobody else in the school had, made this impossible. Not to mention that her name was obviously exotic, and even her teachers messed it up sometimes. It hadn’t even been a month in her new school in a completely new country, and she had already been singled out as an oddity. She hated it.
She began resting her head on the table, carefully placing her pencil bag next to her face, when the door opened wide and a familiar voice rang out.
"Good morning, friends!" Micah announced as she pranced into the room.
She was fairly popular, so many of her classmates returned the greeting. The rest either tried to ignore her or rolled their eyes at the annoyingly loud Viscet.
Xochiki also tried to ignore her, but to her dismay her shoulder jostled as a firm paw gripped it
"Hey, Cheeks! Let's make today a good one too!"
"Y-yeaaah….."

Thankfully Micah didn’t sit near her today. Xochiki tried to listen to her teacher's lecture, but she was distracted from the days earlier events. The teacher's voice droned on as she slyly peered in Micah's direction without moving her head. The popular viscet was writing notes in her spiral. Every once in a while she tore a piece out and passed it to one of the viscets around her. She suddenly turned her head in Xochiki's direction. Xochiki froze in place as her tormenter looked her directly in the eyes, opened her mouth wide and shouted!
"FEATHER-CHEEKS!"
Xochiki's eyes flew open in a panic.
Micah was hovering over her. Most of her classmates were gone, with only a few stragglers messing around near the back. The teacher was nowhere to be seen.
"Wha-" Xochiki stuttered in surprise.
"It's cool, Cheeks! I distracted Teach so he wouldn't notice you fell asleep to his boring voice. Been waking up too early lately?" Micah sniggered.
"I have to get to my next class!" Xochiki was still disoriented and confused. She felt she just had to get out of here.
Micah opened her mouth to say something else, but Xochiki left her in the dust again.

Xochiki didn't know what she'd do if Micah shared more classes with her. Thankfully she only had to see her in the morning class, though occasionally they'd run into each other in the halls. The rest of the day passed without any more horrifying incidents, though as usual other viscets would stare at her just a little too much.
"Hey!"
Xochiki flinched out of habit, but the voice was a familiar one.
"Xochipi!" she gave a tired smile.
"Hey, something wrong sis? You look tired. How are those early morning tutorials working out for you?" Xochipi turned a concerned eye to the bags under his sister's eyes.
"It's okay now, I won't be going any more," Zochiki shook her head, "Let's get out of here."
She followed her older brother on their way home. Xochiki looked enviously at his featherless arms and cheeks and couldn't help but think about how lucky he was.

"Mom?"
Xochiki was washing vegetables while her mom was busy peeling and cutting them.
"Yes, my dear?"
"Do you every have problems with your feathers?"
Her mother chuckled
"Well, I have to keep them preened or they may begin itching. Are you starting to experience that? I can help-"
"No, not those kinds of problems!" Xochiki retorted louder than she intended.
Her mother tilted her head and waited for her daughter to clarify
Xochiki sighed and said, "Like, a problem with other viscets thinking they're weird."
Her mother frowned.
"In my clan, feathers were considered very beautiful. They were uncommon, but not as rare as they are in this country. Your father loved my feathers."
Now it was Xochiki's turn to frown.
"It's not that way at school, mom. They're weird! Nobody else has them, and I always get funny looks. Xochipi is lucky to not have feathers like me!"
Xochiki quivered in place. She didn't mean to burst out like that, but she had been holding that in for almost a month.
Her mom looked sadly at her daughter. She knew that moving to a new place was hard, but she hadn't anticipated such a severe issue that would cause Xochiki to have such an outburst. Suddenly, she had an idea.
"I'm so sorry, Xochiki. Would you come with me?"
Xochiki followed her mother to her room.
Her mother went into the closet and pulled out a beautiful scarf. She held it out and smiled.
"Just like your brother Xochipi, my sister didn’t have feathers. She admitted to me that she couldn't help but feel jealous. I felt terrible about it, I love my sister and wanted her to be as blessed as I was. I saved up my money and got her this for her birthday."
She placed it around Xochipi's head.
"She wore it just like this, until she found a mate. She returned the scarf to me the day they married. I wanted her to keep it, but she told me that wearing the scarf had given her confidence and now that her dreams had come true, she wanted me to have it so I could be reminded of how I helped her."
Xochiki looked at herself in the mirror. The scarf covered her feathers in a fashionable way.
"Maybe it can help you too, in a different way," her mother offered, "do other viscets wear accessories in school?"
Xochiki pulled the scarf close to her face to hide her watery eyes.
"Thank you mom. I love it."
She watched her daughter dash into her room. She smiled sadly as she walked back to finish dinner. She wished her daughter did not feel like she had to hide her beautiful feathers.

Xochiki had not heard her hated nickname all day. The scarf draped over her head and shoulders. She hoped she looked like a different viscet. Xochiki was so pleased to have made it to her last class without any torment. The class ended and she began to get up.
She felt a tap on her shoulder. Even though Micah wasn't in this class, her heart dropped.
"I like your scarf," came a careful whisper.
Xochiki glanced at the viscet speaking. She remembered seeing her around in class before, but didn't know anything about her.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
The other viscet's eyes lit up in recognition.
"Ah, you're, um, the one with the- Ch… Ch…" she struggled with the name.
"Xochiki," she cut her off, not liking that it sounded like the other viscet was about to say the nickname Micah gave her.
"Okay, Zo-cheeky… got it! I'm Anna!"
Xochiki shook the other girl's paw. It /was/ nice that she hadn't been recognized at first. Had her wishes come true after all?
Xochiki left the room with Anna and was met with an unpleasant sight.
"Hey, I know those feathery legs! Whatcha wearing, Cheeks?"
Micah reached out for Xochiki's beloved scarf.
"PLEASE STOP!" yelled Xochiki, surprised by her own volume.
Everyone in the area turned their head in the direction of the shout and Xochiki dashed out of the building.

Xochiki sat on a bench in a park near her home, hugging her legs. She didn't feel like going home yet. Her mom had given her a wonderful gift, and just when she thought that it was going to solve all her problems, it turns out it wasn't enough.
As she was wiping her eyes with the scarf, she felt a careful tap on her shoulder for the second time that day.
"Um, Zo-cheeky…" It was Anna.
"Y-yeah?" Xochiki tried to keep her voice and face composed.
"I just wanted to say, I also think your feathers are as nice as your scarf…" Anna said cautiously.
Xochiki just stared at her, not giving a response.
Anna continued quickly, "They're cool, I swear! I'm a bit plain, you see, so I was thinking it must be nice to stand out and y'know, be an individual?"
Xochiki's brow furrowed, but before she could respond Anna continued again.
"But, I don't think you feel that way about it. I'm sorry that all the attention brings you stress… I'm sorry if I stressed you out," Anna hung her head in sympathy.
Xochiki shook her head and finally responded, "I'm sorry that I left you behind like that. You were nice to me today and I abandoned you with that mean viscet."
Anna looked nervous, "Um, about that…"
Micah stepped out from behind the tree with an unusual look on her face.
Xochiki stiffened.
Micah quickly began, "Hey, um, I'm… sorry for being mean. I didn't mean to go so far, but I got carried away."
Xochiki had so many things she wanted say, but it all crowded in her mouth and she couldn't get any of it out.
"I actually, well, liked your feathers too… and I like giving nicknames, so…"
"Stop," Xochiki finally got a single word out.
Micah froze.
"That's not okay!" Xochiki's voice shook, "couldn't you see that I was uncomfortable!?"
Micah nervously fiddled her digits together, "I really got carried away, I shouldn't have teased you. I was wrong."
Xochiki couldn't believe this was happening. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel.
Micah said solemnly, "You don't have to forgive me, I get it if you don't. But, do you mind if I call you Xo, instead of- I mean, as a nickname?"
Xochiki muttered, "No, I share that part of my name with my brother, Xochipi."
Anna offered, "Is it okay to call you Ki?"
Xochiki nodded at Anna.
"Can we be friends, Ki?" Anna asked.
Xochiki nodded again and got up from the bench.
Micah stood awkwardly to the side.
Xochiki said, "I think I need some time before I can forgive you. But in the meantime, you can call me Ki."

From that day on, Xochiki usually opted to wear her scarf around her neck, now knowing that most viscets were only curious and intrigued by her feathers rather than meaning any malice. There were some days where she felt shy and still wore it around her face, but her school life improved from that day. She felt better about herself, and became great friends with Anna.
"Mom…" she began while washing vegetables for dinner.
"Yes, dear?"
"Thank you for the scarf. And thank you for the feathers."
1,899 words

Sorry for it being so long, when I first saw this beauty I just kinda got the story in my head (a bit based on life experience). When I saw the competition was extended, I decided to try writing it out! I'm more an artist than a writer though, and didn't have much time to proofread it after spending so much time writing it, but otherwise I did my best and hope it's alright regardless!
1,974 words with explanation

[~Teya~]

This competition is officially closed for judging.

[~Teya~]

Since I can't give all of you this viscet, the least I can do is tell you what I thought of everyone who entered!

Gadetrocks -- Your story had potential, I actually quite like the idea of Betta working for the Queen and (I assume) being a messenger for her to her allies. But, it was so short! I would've loved to read more about Betta's journey to deliver her message. Also, there were some grammar problems you could work on for future tryouts, such as spelling Betta's own name wrong multiple times, as well as having a few run-on sentences (you let some sentences "run on" too long without using a period to separate them) and would also not use the word "and" at certain parts where it made sense to. But all in all, I hope you get to use this idea for a future story, because I think you could genuinely make something good out of it. ^^ Your art was really cute, by the way!

Knickknacks -- I really adored your story! It was super nice with it just starting out with a conversation with his Grandmother, because I got to get a feel for both of their personalities immediately, while also creating foreshadowing to hook the reader, and I love when seemingly normal convo's can accomplish showing how a character acts / how they're like. c: And your art, <3 <3 You nailed their markings in the first piece! I appreciate when someone takes the time to do that. And I agree, cute sketch is cute; not only that but I love your style. C;

Prince Audric -- Sarid seems like a very courageous viscet, with an interesting story. However, there were some problems with your story. For one thing at the part where Sarid apparently realized the mother of the egg was dead, I was kinda confused and didn't realize that, so at first when Sarid began walking away I had to reread that part and still didn't know what you were going for. I guess saying "They didn't need it now" hinted they had died but I still had to read over that sentence like three times. Also, there were some grammar problems that could've been easily fixed with a reread. I did like your art though, especially the first one with the blizzard, and the one with Sarid sleeping with the egg is soo adorable. ^-^

Ivyscribblez -- I honestly really liked your story, taking away all its flaws (that I'll get to), it just has this certain charm to it ? It was obvious you needed a bit more words, but you made due with what you had. The whole resistance thing against this emperor was intriguing, and it was great to see Cali get over her fears. But, on to the flaws. I found a few things strange, such as how a few rebels manage to break into the throne room of their tyrannical ruler, or how Cali suddenly knew who started the fire in her home? Didn't quite understand that part. It was cool how you gave an explanation for her scarf, and I also love the art you did, Cali's expression in the first piece is great with the fire behind her, and the traditional art is just so darn cute. <3

Cry_Like_A_Wolf -- First off, I absolutely love the art you did! The warm colors of the first echo the happiness of that moment, and the cold colors do the same for Bookah's sadness and longing for his memory back. I didn't understand why you told the part with the Grandpa twice in different text? (the fancy text also made it harder to read) It really made no sense to me. My favorite part of the story had got to be closer to the end when Bookah was so sad. I liked the way you described it instead of just saying "Bookah was sad and cried himself to sleep, the end", you actually went into it instead, which was nice. The story you were going for was interesting, but in the end it was too short, and not only that but it might have been nice to know what happened to Bookah- even if he wouldn't get to know it with the reader.

SkywardtheDragon -- The approach you went with this story was a fun read! The mystery element was cool, and I rarely see stories told from this perspective for a 'cet comp. Sadly, though, it wasn't able to give us much of a real look at Adhari, such as why the townsfolk think shes a monster or why she lived in the forest.

bandgeekizzle -- I adore Xochiki. She honestly seems like such a sweetie and so pure, urgh. x.x I feel for her moving to a new country and having to make new friends, which can be reeeaally hard. To add on to that she feels like everyone hates her, but at the end it's revealed Micah's really just a bit of a jokester and should've pulled back a long time ago. I like how Xochiki got her scarf, too, and I'm very glad that in the end Xochiki began to learn that it's okay to be different and doesn't have to hide herself in the scarf. Oh ! And I almost forgot to mention, what beautiful art. <3 That first one is priceless x'D And in the second you can really see Xochiki's shyness.
--

In the end.. I had to pick a winner out of all of these absolutely fantastic forms, many of which blew me away!! I did not expect at all these many people to try out for my last GA adopt, all of you guys seriously do not know how much that means to me. <33

My top three forms are (I wish I could give the two that didn't win RU's or at least HM's, but sadly Guest Artists can't do that) Knickknacks, Ivyscribblez, and bandgeekizzle, and after some debating with me, myself, and I, I've (reluctantly) decided on a winner.

bandgeekizzle!

There was just something about your story that made me love it, that made it shine brighter than any other. So, I'm happy to be rewarding you with Xochiki! I'm surprised writing isn't what you're mainly in to, because for the most part your grammar was good and so was the story. I have to say, one thing that really won me over was the way everyone talked. It just seemed like, they were real being's with a personality. The best example of this is in the part where Micah apologizes and Xochiki doesn't know quite what to say. Then when she does finally say something, at first it's simply "Stop," I don't know why, but that mixed with the following conversation sounds like a legit argument-ish type convo I can imagine happening IRL. It's hard to explain, but that's one of my reasons for picking you.
I'll update the main post and add you to the drawing momentarily, I hope you do great things with Ki!

[Gadgetrocks]

Congrats bandgeekizzle! Your art is really cute, and I can see you put a lot of work into the story. I can remove the Queens shadow from my art if you'd like to keep it as well.

Thanks Teya for the advise and compliment! I didn't have much time to work on it, but thanks for complementing my story. I do most of my writing on a kindle, which has some strange autocorrect, and really liked calling Betta Berta. I've always had a problem with run on sentences, and I'm hoping to improve on that soon.

[HandleAnimal]

Ah, I thought since they edited their form after you called time they would have been disqualified! (Also I don’t really want you using the art of him for your personal use, sorry! I’d like to keep it for myself and have no desire for it to go to the winner.)

The point of the same thing in different don’t was meaning that Bookah was remembering the book, not an actual memory from his past <3 I tried to make it as clear as possible but it seemed it didn’t work, sorry!

With school starting I really didn’t have the time to write pages upon pages for him, or I would have.

While I am (very) sad and disappointed I didn’t get him I am glad he went to a good owner. (:

Hopefully one day I’ll finally find a viscet I like again so I can say I own one (:

[Ivyscribblez]

Ahh, congrats <3 while I’m sad to not have my girl Cali, I’m happy to see Xochiki going home with you! Thanks for the feedback, Teya- I do agree that there where some parts that could’ve been explained more. Everyone did so great this comp!

[Knickknacks]

I do most of my writing on a kindle, which has some strange autocorrect, and really liked calling Betta Berta.

I laughed a little at this. ‘Berta’ eep- I completely sympathize with you on that haha~

Congratulations Bandgeekizzle!! I did really like your story, and your art pieces were so cute and expressive! <3

[Prince Audric]

I had fun with this and would like to offer the colored Art I did to the winner, as well as the headshot at the end of my fourm.