[corrosive_limes]

~{ ;; • username ; corrosive_limes •||• name ; Nasrin "Primrose" Lousinevar Vartouhi •||• gender ; female • ;; }~

A lone rosebush grew in the center of a dark clearing. Even in the midst of day with the sun shining bright directly overhead, the clearing remained shrouded in shade. No other plants grew in this clearing - it was solely the rosebush. A dark thicket of vines with shimmering green leaves and soft pink roses so rich in color they seemed to emanate a soft glow.
For centuries, the clearing had remained undisturbed by Viscet or beast, a timeless pocket of solitude in a forest filled with life.
The clearing remained suspended in peaceful eternity until one fateful day, a lone witch stumbled across it quite by accident while collecting herbs.
She was fascinated by the clearing and the seemingly enchanted rosebush, and as she stood in awe of the beauty of the site, an idea began to take root in the back of her mind. The witch left, only to return a few weeks later. This time she was prepared. Summoning the dormant powers from deep within her, the witch brought the rosebush to life through a spectacular ritual.
In a blinding burst of heavenly light, a single rose transformed into a Viscet, and Primrose was born.
Brought into the world in the cold and dark with no idea of who she was, the new Viscet's only guiding light was the witch, the witch who gave her life, the witch who gave her a name, and the witch who took her under her wing to teach her.
For months, the two lived together in peace and solitude in the witch's cottage in the woods. The witch taught Primrose the in's and out's of life and worked on her recipes and spells in her spare time while Primrose explored the forest she'd come to call her home.
Sadly, not even that peaceful life would last forever.
Eventually the witch's enemies caught up to her, hunting her down even into the deepest most hidden recesses of the forest. They broke down the door and in the split second before the fighting broke out, the witch turned to Primrose and shouted at her to run.
Just run and never look back, no matter what happened.
Primrose turned and bolted out the back exit an instant before a blinding flash of light and a thunderous crack split open the air behind her. She was absolutely desperate to look back and see for herself what happened, but she took the witch's words to heart and ran. She ran into the forest and ran all through the night. She ran and she ran and she ran until her legs and lungs finally gave out beneath her and she collapsed to the ground.
When she had recovered enough strength to lift her head to look up and examine her surroundings, she found herself in a part of the forest she'd never seen before. Even with the light of the moon shining through the branches, everything felt unnaturally dark and the shadows looked thick enough to reach out and tangibly touch.
Looming immediately over her was the mouth of a cave. From deep within the cave came an ominous deep red glow. Despite the uneasiness she felt gazing upon it, Primrose was in dire need of shelter and cautiously entered the gaping maw into the earth.
An air of redness seemed to permeate every corner of the cave, and that deep red glow seemed to pulse right out of the rock bed. Continuing deeper into the cave, she discovered the site of a cave in. A skull rested on the ground beside the fallen rocks.
Approaching the rock pile, Primrose felt increasingly uneasy. She picked up the skull, which appeared to be wolf-like in nature. As she did so, a shock of energy raced up her forearms and into her chest, and a sudden flood of new memories besieged her mind. She dropped the skull out of shock. She looked down at it, trying to make sense of everything she now knew.
Primrose now clearly remembered the events that had transpired in this cave years ago as clearly as if it had happened to her.
She remembered entering the cave, sans the red glow. She remembered walking the tunnels with her little brother. She remembered hearing the bone chillingly terrifying sound of the rocks above her beginning to give way. He remembered lunging to shove his brother out of the way and being crushed by the stony avalanche before his life flickered out of existence.
Wait, he?
Primrose firmly shook herself, reminding herself mentally who she was, that those were simply the memories of a dead ghost. She picked up the skull again, more tenderly this time. She pondered it for a moment, before gently lifting it and setting it upon her head. Ghost or not, she now felt a deep sense of connection to the skull's previous owner, whoever he was. Despite it having come from a different species, the skull fit snugly as though it had been specifically carved to be worn as a mask. Accessing her new memories once more, she understood now that it indeed had been carved to be used as a mask. Specifically a mask to be worn during the yearly celebration of the Festival of the Living Dead, whatever that was.
A new sense of purpose instilled in her, Primrose decided then that she would stay in this cave, protecting the entrance and guarding its deepest and darkest secrets until the one she was waiting for returned.
However long it took, she would be here when the Necromancer returned again.

The Viscets portraying the Witch and the Necromancer are both currently for adoption and can be found here and here respectively, with my forms for them found here and here. If I don't win one or both competitions, I plan to reuse the concepts at a later date.

[dovelydragon]

I'm in love sweet jesus
resssss

[Corvuss]

mark to watch

[Knickknacks]

username:: Knickknacks
name:: Adira
gender:: Female

origins::
I’m waking up...

...to ash and dust

...the lone survivor.

Adira still didn’t know how she’d survived, but she knew she shouldn’t have.

It... it wasn’t possible. She didn’t... didn’t remember what had happened to her, what had happened before she woke up among the ashes, but it just didn’t make sense that she would still be alive.

Not...

Not when everyone else was dead.

Everything was black. Black ashes drifting everywhere, thickening the air and gathering in ankle-deep drifts on the ground. Black cooled rock, here and there interspersed with a malevolent red glow. Structures that might have been homes, once- she didn’t remember what anything had looked like before- now loomed, dark and ashen and empty and unfamiliar,

And everything hurt. Adira was caked in ash, and as she scrabbled to her paws, she became, suddenly, hyperaware of all the scrapes and burns- ow, her arm hurt... was that a broken bone, perhaps?- that emerged, stabbing and aching as though making sure she took special notice of all of them.

Glancing side to side- squinting, actually, to avoid getting ash in her eyes- Adira tried to make sense of her surroundings. Black. More black, more ashes. And somewhere on the horizon, where the hard black rock met the swirling, ashes black sky, there loomed a mountain, still glowing with that same fiery red in some places. Adira, though she didn’t remember exactly what had transpired before she woke up, frowned as a vivid image of the same mountain, green and inviting and full of life, flashed through her head. She felt a flash of fear, and anger- the mountain had been a deception, and it had caused all this destruction. She wanted nothing more than to leave it behind.

Turning determinedly on her heel, the first thing she saw was a gleam of white among the ashes. A skull.

Adira yelped in spite of herself before remembering that it... they... whoever they had been... was dead. She crouched down, staring contemplatively into the empty eyesockets. She was probably imagining things, but there was something about the skull that looked almost kindly. Or mournful, sitting here among the ashes.

And then...

Another flash of memory. A pair of warm eyes looking at her. A cocoon of flame- a warm, comforting one rather than a painful burning one. Protection. A voice saying... something. A sense of love. And then... blackness.

Adira crumpled with a gasp. She stared into the dark circles of the skull, and she knew. This had been someone... someone she loved. A dry sob wracked her body, followed by another, until she was weeping openly. Weeping for what had been lost, for the love that she could no longer recall clearly. Weeping in gratitude, for the protection her loved one had given her. And weeping in fear; fear of the unknown. She both knew and didn’t know where she had come from. How was she to know where to go now?

Nonetheless, Adira ventured onward, away from the ruined, ashen landscape. She carved herself a mask in the likeness of that skull she had found, as a means of clinging to those last memories.

-518 words

extras:: optional, 1000 words + 5 art pieces can be used!

Didn’t get as much as I wanted to done, but I still had fun writing this. Poor lost gal </3

[Synerie]

oml, jolt. mark

username: juice box.
name:
gender: Female
origins:
extras: optional, 1000 words + 5 art pieces can be used!

[corgiboy]

username:
Steampunkvale
name: rose
gender: female
origins:
Going to be about a rose garden ect ect myth legend type thing
extras: optional, 1000 words + 5 art pieces can be used!

[ᴇᴜᴛᴏɴʏ]

res

[Hail.]

username: howlingtothestars
name: Dirus (Di - erus)
gender: Female
origins:

The dull air was stagnant and dry, hollow of light with millions of particles of dust circling lazily just above the ground. The silence was suffocating and the grayscale colors of the laboratory left to ruin were no less lifeless than the three skeletons which lay broken on the ground, holes punctured in their skulls from the fangs of the monster they had made.

In the half year since the ruin, the land began to reclaim the underground sanctum with shocking speed, cracking through the cement walls with brown roots as clusters of moist soil tumbled in through the crevices, releasing a scent akin to that of a dense forest as humidity seeped in through the soil, weaving heavy fog with long, thin fingers.

The overbearing peace of the old room cracked as a door jolted, scraping against the broken flooring and stopping abruptly with a harsh pang. Narrow streams of light spilled in, moving up and down from the opening in the wall. Slowly, two figures emerged, clothed in thick black armor with heavy helmets, each holding dark, metallic objects which released the odd light tightly in their hands. The bipedal, hairless creatures stalked about, moving the light in scanning sweeps across the room, sometimes stopping on the skeletons left over, sometimes jolting away from the old gore which tainted the walls. They moved independently of one another as they slowly spread out in the room, scanning bookshelves and walls. They spoke to each other in hazy whispers, keeping their steps light as to hear each other - and whatever else may have survived within the room.

After a few minutes, one light lowered as the figure looked over their shoulder and called to the other. The other gave a brief signal with his hand, lifting an opposable thumb to the roof, then returned it to the metallic object. Behind him, the first turned and slipped out of the room, calling out to likely what was another group within another room.

Alone, the visitor lowered his object in one hand and took a book from the shelf, turning it and blowing with heavy puffs of air, forcing the dust to stir in a chaotic mist. He broke into a fit of coughs and frantically waved his hand through the air to dispel the dust, though it only made more particles rush to the sky from their slumber on the shelves. Uncomfortable, the creature backpedaled, coughing and waving with one hand, the metallic object held loosely in the other.

A quiet sneeze echoed from a corner in the room and all discomfort from the dust stopped as the bipedal beast turned on his heels, raising the object to his eye and shining the light on the source of the small noise.

It was difficult to see - obscured by swirling dust and a tangle of thorny vines with luminous flowers of which were unknown to the land above. The biped approached slowly, keeping the object to his eye as one hand drifted over to a dark box on his other shoulder. He opened his mouth slowly, but froze.

She blinked twice, stirring uncomfortably from her heavy slumber and forcing the dust from her nostrils in heavy puffs. Finally, annoyed by her inability to rid herself of the particles, her head lifted and reared back before jolting forward and whipping side-to-side in a violent sneeze, the skull fixed upon her head jolting up slightly from the sharp motion.

Awakened, and no longer having the desire to sleep, pupil-less eyes creaked open and rested on the towering figure, the metallic object pointed at her head. The two watched each other in silence - the biped in horrific recognition and anxiety, and the young one in dull, hazy confusion.

The biped jerked from his shock and stiffened, gripping the weapon with both hands with a sharp hiss, but did not move from there. He watched her, shaking and conflicted, then - with a defeated sigh - lowered his weapon and gripped the small box on his shoulder. “Nothing here. I’ll meet you at sector six tomorrow morning.”


---

Day: 1

The viscling didn’t put up a fight as he slowly nudged her into a thick bag using the wide-end of the metallic object, and she didn’t protest much either as he lifted and sealed the bag carefully. The darkness was comforting and calming to her, and the rocking sway brought up by his pace was of only minor annoyance.

The trek was of undetermined time to the little one, feeling short and long at the same time, but the mark of its end came with the clicking of bolted locks.

The bag was gently set on the ground, and with an odd sound it opened, and light pooled in.

She instantly recoiled, curling her head downward and using the shadow of the skull and her tail to block out the light. After taking a moment to process the problem, the biped rushed and flicked a switch, bringing the darkness back and allowing her to slowly unravel.

Simmering eyes surveyed the world outside of the comforting dark bag. Large, geometrical shapes stood around the room in a fashion that was semi-ordered, but no where near as ordered as that of the laboratory room.

In the center, a large rectangular object with four legs stood, and the biped approached it, sitting on a much smaller and thinner version of it. Atop the large object, a small and faint light was sparked to life. Alike the darkness, it was a faint comfort, and slowly the viscling felt at-ease enough to step from the bag and explore.

She walked in a wide-circle, examining the peculiar objects one at a time and making mental calculations on each. After five paces, she paused and leaned closer to one which bore the earthy scent of home. It was made of odd ground, compacted and fragile, and held loose soil which sported a drooping, half-dead plant.

The vines on her shoulders hummed and a flower opened its petals, giving off a soft orange glow. After a moment, the humming stopped and the flower fell, drifting in small spirals to the ground. Before it could touch the wooden floor, the vicling dipped her head - balancing the frail plant on her nose. Carefully, she transferred it to the side and dropped it gently on the soil.

The flower rested, then shriveled up. As light and life left it, the plant in turn grew strong again, rising from its slumped position and spreading its leaves upwards in victorious cheer.

A soft chime echoed to her ears, and the viscling turned her head watched as the biped slowly stepped away from a dome-shaped bowl, returning to sit on the small object once more. She began to turn her head away and back to the plant when a soft, sweet smell softly called her, beckoning her to the bowl. Her paws followed and she moved sideways, arching her head as she sniffed at the contents of the bowl.

Within sat a bundle of dark blue, circular fruits - the source of the call. She leaned forward and swallowed one, her ears twitching at the peculiarity of it.

The food she had known in that dark room came from the vines and flowers - it was tasteless and required no effort for her to obtain. Simply laying on the ground was enough for the parasites to provide her with the life-sustaining energy she needed.

This, however. This was so much better.

She engulfed the berries ravenously, leaving not a drop behind. Her focus was locked onto them, onto hunting each and every one of those circular fruits down and devouring them.

Above her, he looked down and smiled. A laugh rippled from him and his voice tore the air a moment later. “Well, you-”

She whipped around, knocking the bowl over in the process, and snarled at him. The large feathers on her back raised and stood tall and her tail slapped the ground three times.

He jumped from his seat, knocking it over and spurring another snarl from her. They stood, facing each other and neither moving, for several long, heavy moments. He did not move or even breath, his whole body was paralyzed with the legends and tales that promised claws to tear open his abdomen.

His stillness, although driven by fear, was what brought peace between the two once more.

Slowly, her feathers relaxed and she turned her attention to the bowl. As he cautiously returned his seat to its prior position and sat upon it, she pressed a paw against the bowl to hold it firm and licked at the interior.

He risked a nervous, quiet chuckle and returned his attention to the top of the large object, trying hard to not make sudden movements or loud sounds.

With the bowl empty, the viscling turned her attention to the biped. He was odd, and though he smelt freshly of her home, scents of other biped and strange animals were strong on his skin.

She began to step towards him, but stopped in her tracks at the quiet call of her prey. It started with a crunch - the sound made when one is eaten - then that sweet smell echoed to her nose once more, and she knew where it was.

She backed up, eyes skyward as she angled herself. She lifted her tail from the ground and lowered her chest until her feathers lightly brushed the ground. Then, with all of her effort, she threw herself upward and smacked onto the edge of the large object - her forepaws slamming on its surface.

There, as the whispering voice had promised, was a clear bowl filled with the circular fruit.

Determined - and ignoring the biped beside her as he jumped from his seat once more - her hind legs flailed for grip, but found none. Slowly, the weight of her body began to pull her down and away from the fruit. Her claws drove into the wood, but it was of no help. She was to fall, without another fruit. In panic and longing, a soft cry escaped her as she scrambled desperately to reach the food.

In response, hands latched onto her sides and lifted her, releasing her atop the table. She turned, examining the biped as he lifted his hands and stepped back, his aura sizzling with fear. Her mind calculated him and the event that had occured, replaying the cry which brought his aid and sealing the memory into a file. After, she turned away and sprang upon the bowl, engulfing the her helpless prey once more.

Day: 2
She fell asleep within the bowl - no thoroughly emptied of fruit - and he rested nearby in his chair, his head on the table and over an old book which smelled of dust and home.

With morning, soft light pooled in, staining her eyelids red and drawing her from her slumber with a groaning croak.

She rolled over, tilting the bowl enough that it flipped and dropped her atop the table, the sudden movement jarring her to awareness. She lifted her head sharply, her paws planted firmly on the ground, and squinted at the growing light. Her head jolted to-and-fro, searching for cover, but despite the great number of objects, not one offered the cover of darkness.

Panic drew her up and lured her to pace as her mind ran for an urgent answer. In its frantic search, her mind threw a memory forward and she quickly acted upon it.

She faced the biped and charged him, tilting her head down and smacking his head with the skull upon her own. He jolted up with a gasp and looked around frantically, then stared at her. She gave a whining chirp to him, her eyes mostly closed as the sunlight grew ever harsher.

He blinked, trying to interpret her cry, then gasped as realization struck him. “Of course,” He spoke in hushed excitement, recalling her reaction to his normal volume. “You’ve lived in darkness up until now, so photophobia would obviously be present.”

Understanding none of his words, and growing increasingly more uncomfortable, she tried again with a whimpering chirp. In response, his hands moved towards her, but paused in hesitation. “Now. . . Don’t bite me, okay? I’m going to help. . .” His hands progressed again and grabbed her sides - just above the thorny vines.

He swept her up and ran, holding her an arms length from him as he dashed into another room. Once inside, he placed her down and closed the door, then ran to the sources of the light. In a matter of moments, the light faded to a pale darkness, and the viscling blinked in relief.

She approached him and stopped before his feet. They gazed at each other and slowly, she blinked at him and released a rippling chirp. She waited, watching him, then turned away to explore the new room and search for more prey.


He watched her, then slowly sat down on the bed in the center of the room, sighing as he slowly sank onto the mattress. Thoughts tormented his mind - though they were different from the fearful ones of the prior night.

His people - his species - were rumored to once live in peace with these creatures. Humans and viscets walked and worked side-by-side, some even understanding the others language. However, a tragedy happened, and the opinions of the many changed. Viscets no longer viewed humans as an ally, but a threat. Battles broke out and many human lives were lost. Eventually, they were driven deep into the barren wasteland of the east where they built a frantic sanctuary to keep the viscets out. From that day onward, man lived independent of viscets. The population worked the land, restoring it to create a forest within their shelter, and daring adventurers traveled to the West on boats, bringing back horses, bovine, boars, and an assortment of wildlife which thrives within the forest. Humans were independent of viscets, at least until Vita Nova arose.

The organization was focused on evolution - not just of species, but of time. Determined to create a weapon to help humans reclaim the world, they set to work on a series of secret, illegal, underground experiments in a lab hidden within the forests earth. Nine years later, they were successful in the most horrendous of ways.

They called her Cinder. She was supposed to be their perfect achievement - a viscet created to fight back her own kind without hesitation. However, they only made a monster.

Cinder broke out and got away, escaping into the wild of the East, though some feared that she still lurked within the forest of the humans, and so search and destroy parties were sent with one instruction: kill any viscets you see.

Slowly, his eyes drifted to the viscling as she snapped at an old stuffed animal, trying to challenge it. After processing that it wasn’t responding, she snorted and turned away, pausing to gaze back at him as she did.

He didn’t know whether to frown or smile. He knew he would be arrested for keeping a viscet, and her. . . well, no death would be more certain. Still, it was like a wonderful experiment with results he could never have imagined. She was not naturally aggressive towards him - the only aggressive gestures being when he had startled her. She was nowhere the stories told in his classes of the bipedal monsters which lust for blood and violence. If anything, the only blood she “lusted” for was that of blueberries.

He slid from the bed, resting on his knees on the floor, and watched her as she trotted around the corner of the bed, leading with her head and peering at him through the skull on her head.

“Hey…” Speaking quietly once more, he slowly extended his hand - palm down - towards her. She hesitated, peering at him, then shuffled forward and sniffed his hand. For a moment, he pleaded internally that his hands didn’t smell of berries. “We haven’t properly met. . . My name is Daniel. I’m a human.”

Her eyes lifted and watched him, and he resisted the hopeless urge to frown, knowing she couldn’t understand him. He sighed softly, and she sat down, shifting her tail behind her while watching him.

Silence hung over them as she looked at him, almost expectantly. Finally, he shrugged and chuckled lightly. “Well, if I am going to raise you, might as well give you a name, eh? How about. . . Finley?”

She blinked and moved her head forward slightly, watching his mouth closely.

“Eh, no. Finley doesn’t quite fit. . . Chase? Nope. I don’t like that one either.”

She chirped eagerly, inching forward as she did, her eyes focused on him.

Daniel laughed, a little nervously, and furrowed his eyebrows at her. “What? Do you have a name idea?”

She didn’t move, didn’t even blink. He shuddered slightly and reached out a hand instinctively, hovering a few inches before her head before pulling back and standing up. “I’ll think about it, but we will find one, okay? Just. . . be patient.”

She watched him as he went to the door and pulled it open, hesitating and looking back at her for a moment before vanishing behind it and closing it, leaving her to the peaceful darkness.


----


Month: 3
The days within Daniel’s home were standard. She stayed in the room with the bed - windows covered by thick curtains which he bought after the third day - while the sun is up and Daniel is away at work, going deeper into the laboratory of Vita Nova. At night, he returns home with items taken without his superiors knowledge. He then stands over these items for several hours while she is permitted to roam the main room again - which is now outfitted with a special ladder to reach the top of the table. During this time, she is fed an assortment of berries with the occasional fish - if either of them are lucky. Eventually, Daniel falls asleep, but she stays up and roams, enjoying the darkness while it lasts.

On the seventh day, Daniel burst into the bedroom and shouted a name - terrifying her and bringing a well-deserved bite to the ankle in the process. Dirus, taken from Canis Dirus - the scientific name of the dire wolf: an ancient creature feared by the humans that lived in its era. By the second day of use, she had learned to respond to it, much in the same way he had been trained to respond to her chirps without knowing.

Life for the two was going well, and each day they were a little less uncomfortable around each other. Daniel had given up chasing Cinder, though it is not what he told his co-workers. To them, the grand excuse of “Information about Cinder and her flaws is in there somewhere, we just need to find it!” was laid out to lay a thick sheet over his true purpose: learning more about Dirus.

Of the forty-three books he had found, two contained sections which could be related to Dirus. One speaking of red-orange and yellow flowers which fed and drank life, and one of parasitic vines coated in thorns that pointed away from the host only. Both of these articles terrified him, and, after reading the title of the vines, resulted in a frantic and chaotic session of trying to cut the vines off of a very angry and unwilling viscling. In the end, covered in scratches, he returned to the book to read more and learn that the term “parasitic” was used a little loosely.

Observation confirmed the article, as with every wound Dirus took from her daily adventures, the vines would rattle faintly, and instantly any pain she showed from the wound was gone. And, within twelve hours, the wound would be healed completely. It was an interchanging force - the vines kept her alive and well, and in exchange they took excess energy and nutrients from her for themselves.

The flowers were more curious, and hard to understand due to the near-ruined condition of the article. In short, his knowledge grew to two facts: the flowers fall from the vines and land on a dying object, restoring its life. They also are limited, and when there are less than fifteen, no more flowers will fall.

The skull was something he found information on by experiment and observation alone. He had only once to pry it off, but stopped at the agonizing shrike which came from Dirus as a result. From then, the skull was only observed: how it behaved when it hit something, if it took damage from a heavy headbutt, how it seemed to help her in her struggles. In the end, he could only conclude that the skull was harder than average bone and that it was fixed upon her head, though it was not bothersome to her. This knowledge only sparked the worry of growth, and the question of if she would be a viscling forever, or if the limiting size of the skull would simply kill her before she could reach adulthood.

With the new information gained, he started a new journal: one dedicated to Dirus. It held all memories involving her - from when they met to when she knocked over the metal bowl and smacked it across the room with her tail just a few minutes prior. More importantly, however, it contained clues. Clues to who she was, where she came from, and what her purpose was. Deep down, he feared that Vita Nova had a hold on her creation - that she was another one of their psychotic creations - but with each day, he swallowed that fear in favor of hope. In favor that it was all by chance that she ended up down there, entangled in those parasitic vines, life-giving flowers, and the immovable skull.

Though only a few days passed by, Daniel found remembering life before Dirus was a great, near-impossible challenge, and that keeping her secret seemed to be almost twice as hard. And so, on the third month after their meeting, Daniel packed up his bags and took Dirus to a small cottage beside the forest.


---

extras: optional, 1000 words + 5 art pieces can be used!

[tiny little box]

Major wip

[QueenAxolotl]

Username: NurseGlowButt
Viscet name: Luna Amore
Gender: Female
Gender for breeding purposes: female

Art by the lovely Tiny Little Box

Arc One

There was once a time where a goddess lived on the moon that would shine her light on young lovers to bless their lives. The rumors where more than just rumors, but there's a reason why she was ONCE a goddess that lived on the moon.
It was a beautiful night; the moon cascading on a young princess running into a frosted over field of snowdrops, throwing away her flower crown in a fit of excited giggles. She huffed as her eyes wondered around the empty field, anxious to find what she's looking for, when suddenly a rustle in nearby Bush caused her eyes to stop their wondering and focus on that spot. Has she been found by her betrothed? The princess pricked her ears to hone in on the rustle, a low growl emanating from her throat. Only when the viscet who caused the rustle to appear changed her her soft growl into a loud squee of delight as she bolted towards the figure.
The young princess ran into the large red and black viscet, crashing into him onto the cold ground, nearly knocking the breath out of him. "Haha... Princess! I was worried that you wouldn't show!" The large male showered the princess' face with excited pecks, filling the frozen air with giggles.
"I told you to not worry! Only my entire kingdom and the kingdom of that prince that I'm engaged to is after me, well, us now, but that's besides the point! The point is that now we can be together!" She laughed as the male viscet lifted her up from the ground, twirling her as snowflakes started to pepper the air.
"Oh Rai, this is such a dream come true!" The young princess nuzzled her muzzle against his soft, warm, fluffy mane with a soft sigh. "My sweet Gloe... I'm so glad that we can finally be together." His low husky voice echoed in her large, fox like ears with a low rumble. With that, Rai softly grabbed Gloe's cheeks and brought her face close for a deep kiss.
The light around the young couple sparked with Gloe's magic, and started to turn to a soft red glow, breaking up the kiss, causing the two to gasp in awe. The goddess on the moon has approved of and blessed their love as the most powerful type of magic: the magic of true love.
The young couple whooped and hollered from the rare and powerful blessing, but unfortunately, their time of celebration proved to be too soon as the knights of the two kingdoms after the young princess has found their target thanks to the red beam of magic spotlighting the two.
"Gloe, my love! Have you forgotten your responsibility to your family?! To your kingdom?! To me, your fiancé?! What are we going to do without you? Your the last of your kind, and the sole heir to your kingdom, a dying kingdom, Gloe, you know I would do anything to help, but by ancient law, my kingdom can't send anymore resources unless we join in union. You running away from this union will cause the rampant plague to obliterate your kingdom. Please, come home. Forget this infatuation and come be the savior for your kingdom."
Rai held onto Gloe closer as her glared daggers into the desperate prince. Sounds of hiccups and sobs escaped from the crying princess. Gloe looked up at her beloved, a lot and a defeated look in her shiny, wet, eyes.
"Rai, he's right. As much as I want to be selfish and be with you, I can't. The sake of my kingdom is just too much to risk." Gloe touches Rai's face, then looked up at the serene moon and sighed. "And to think that we were just blessed by the goddess on the moon..." fresh tears threatened to fall from Gloe's eyes as she softly grabbed the prince beside her. "I'm so sorry, my love. Maybe in another life we can be together..."
Rai didn't know what to say. One of many reasons that he loved her was for her empathy and compassion to others. After all, he was the one who suggested their elopement, which ended up as an argument because he knew that she would be abandoning her people and responsibilities, but he also knows that she wouldn't be happy marrying out of responsibilities rather than love. Rai was a viscet of strong, sometimes even stoic emotion, but the sight of his true love reaching out to another male, against her own heart with her tears streaking down her beautiful face broke his heart. He grabbed her other paw, his voice gravely, full of emotions as his shiny eyes well up with tears.
"Princess, we can find another way to save your kingdom. Do you know what he's asking you to do? He's asking you to marry him, to bear his visclings! For medicine? For gold? We can find another way! A harder way, but another way! We can still be together and save your people! So please, Gloe, don't do this... So would you do me the honor, and marry me?" and with that, the tears fell down his face as he got down on one knee, and fetches a small box from the pocket from the inside of his cloak. Opening the box, it revealed a beautiful silver ring with a large sapphire that sparkled in the moonlight.
The prince's grasp on Gloe's paw weakened as she let out a loud gasp escaped Gloe's lips, a perplexedand concerned look on his face, but for the sake of his beloved fiancé, he allowed her some closure before her would take her away to marry him. Her legs trembled, as the light from goddess' blessing brightened, almost encouraging Gloe to say 'yes'.
"Rai! This is so sudden! I mean, we talked about it whenever sneaked into my castle, but I never thought this would actually happen so soon! Oh, my love! Of course I-" a loud cough interrupted Gloe, remembering her situation as she looked back at the prince whom reminded her. Her fox-like ears drooped with a defeated look.
"Rai, I want to, I really do, but I can't. As I said, maybe in another life, our luck will be on our side and I won't be a princess, and you won't be the devilishly handsome thief that tried to steal from my castle when we were little, but ended stealing my heart. Goodbye, my sweet thunderbolt." And with that final goodbye, she let go his paw.
The prince extended a paw out for Gloe. Reaching out in encouragement for her to come to him. Just as the defeated Gloe were to reach out to the young prince, the red light that had blessed the young couple that is Rai and Gloe, it had once again appeared, but brighter and more intense, right between Gloe and the prince. The light was so intense, that it burned the very ground between the two, despite the snow that lingered after the morning's earlier flurry storm, as if a warning.
The sounds of stunned murmmers and whispers echoed within the crowd of forgotten soldiers that had been silently watching the drama of the royals and the thief unfold. The deafening silence between the prince and Gloe spoke more than words could ever describe the astonishment that lingered in the air that was as thick as the smoke that came from the warning sign.
"What just happened? I've never heard of the goddess doing that before... no matter, we must make haste. The kingdoms will be in disarray if we loiter here for any longer. Let's go, my bride."
Against the warning, the young prince gently grabbed Gloe and pulled her closer, before the sound of thunderous roar and the sound of the prince screaming out in pain as a blinding red light shot down from the moon in a fury. "AHK!" The prince clutched his badly burnt paw close to his chest as all around looked in awe and fear.
"What the hell was that?!" Gloe shook off her state of shock and quickly went to the prince, a soft yet worried glow whisped around her as she extended her paw to heal the prince with her magic. The prince cringed away from her. "No! You did this, didn't you?! You used your druid magic and the magic from the goddess to do this, didn't you?!" He slapped her paw away, sending her healing magic onto the ground where a red flower started to grow and glow. Rai growled at him and hugged his crying beloved. "Of course I wouldn't! That wasn't me! We must've angered the goddess! I mean, this is completely unheard of, but that previous light must've been a warning. Please, let me heal you or else you'll scar!"
The prince snarled at her, his knights starting to draw their swords, causing Gloe to whimper in worry and fear. "Princess, we've been friends since we met at our first ball. I've always known of your magical abilities, since only royals of your country have that power, but I can't marry you and have princes and princesses this dangerous! I'm sorry, but you'll have to find some other kingdom to help you. Knights! We're out of here!"
Gloe didn't know what to feel. Scared? Upset? Worried for her kingdom? Or happy that she can finally marry her true love, Rai? All she knew as she sat there dumbfounded as the tears of relief fell from her face, she was finally free and she had the goddess and her blessing to thank.
Unfortunately, only Rai and Gloe were free

Arc Two

"LUNAAAAAA!" The sound of Soleo's voice roared throughout the halls of the Celestial palace. Luna flinched hearing father's furious voice as she knew that she screwed up. "Y-yes, father!" She replied timidly. "You screwed up! You have broken a sacred rule: to never intervene in mortal affairs, no matter the reason! I thought you knew better."
Her father was right, she did know better, but Luna hasn't seen as love as pure and true as the two she just blessed for a long time, and she has seen the possible future that those two would have and there nothing that she wouldn't do to secure that future, even if it meant breaking a sacred rule. But that would mean the one punishment that she wasn't looking forward to...
"Luna! You can no longer leave the moon until I say so!" And with that, Soleo left, just as he always does after scolding his daughter. Luna huffed as she sat down on the chaise next to her. Only once a month was she was allowed off the moon, the day of the new moon, but she wasn't about to let her father's scolding and blatant grounding stop her from leaving the moon. And with grounding, she went back to her home on the moon.
'I'm 250,000 years old, not 200 years old! He needs to stop treating me like a child! I'm going to go to that mortal festival no matter what he says!' Luna mentally ranted on and on, huffing and puffing as she paces on the celestial marble floor, her dragon-like tail thumping anxiously, mumbling growls under her breath, scaring away her star servants. She felt bad for scaring the little stars, but after seeing them, a bolt of brilliance stuck her. She knew how to get out of house arrest!
Luna called for her most loyal and a trusted star, Ryū, a kind star that has the heart of a dragon, and the loyalty of a wolf. "You called for me, my lady?" Ryū asked curiously. While Luna was rather fond of Ryū, she rarely asked for him specifically, unless she wanted to rant about her father or gossip about the other gods and goddesses since she knew that he would never tell anyone what she had said, but Ryū can tell that she's not in a gossiping mood, and she doesn't exactly look like she wants to rant. Actually, his lady looks like she's excited for something.
"Ryū, I'm forbidden to leave this place because I intervened in mortal lives, but I have a plan, and you're a key factor." Luna was glowing with excitement, but Ryū only smiled awkwardly, but he had a bad feeling that something was going to go wrong, but he couldn't disappoint his goddess.
"How can I be of service, my lady?" Ryū asked sheepishly. "Well, my dear friend, I'm going to leave this chunk of rock and explore the mortal realm! I want to be where all the mortals are and watch them fall in love there. I want to see what the magic that I have blessed those with in person. I... I..." Luna blushed as she stammered to get the last bit of her statement out. "I want to fall in love!"
Ryū was shocked to hear her say such blasphemous talk, but he understood what she felt. It was cruel that a celestial being could fall in love with a mortal, but not being able to express the feeling, doomed to watch them from a afar till the day they died. It a was a feeling he knew all to well, since after all, he did just that, but as a star that can only stay in a celestial form for so long before fizzling out back into a glowing orb, he had even lesser opportunities to tell a certain princess that he loved her.
Ryū sighed softly, determined to help his goddess. "I'll do whatever I can to help you, my lady. Just give me the word." Luna jumped with joy as she finally felt like there was a turning tide with his acceptance to help. "All right, the new moon is coming up tonight, so I'll leave in disguise. For you, I'll give you some of my power to be able to permanently stay in your celestial form so that you can pretend to be me. You know, make it look like I'm moping in bed or got my comfort blanket wrapped around me as I look towards the mortal plane. When you feel like you're going to be found out." Luna pulled out a strange looking wand that doubled as a flute, made with enchanted wood from a sacred garden on Venus. "Play this and I'll appear and take your place. Be careful as to not lose this, because during the new moon and without the other stars knowing that I'm on the ground, I'll have no guidance to go back home."
Ryū's chest swelled with pride and honor that his goddess would trust him enough to help her partake in her mission, and to be blessed with such power, even if it was just enough to permanently stay in his celestial form. "I promise you, my lady, I won't let you down!"
Luna was glowing with happiness and magic. Luna took her paws and gently rested them on Ryū, a soft red glow encasing him as his body suddenly takes shape of his celestial form, a large, male viscet body with a crest of red horns on his white face, long, wispy whiskers, an even longer tail, and strong, scaled paws.
"Your tail and crests will be hard to conceal, but I have the upmost faith that you will find a way." Luna hugged Ryū and laughed with joy. "Thank you so much for your help! Now I can finally achieve my dreams, and finding my own true love instead of having to help others!" Ryū nodded in response as he took the wand flute and headed to Luna's bed chambers with a bucket of ice cream from Pluto.
Luna laughed at the sight and sighed. "That Ryū knows me too well! Well, I can't sit here all night and miss my only time to go!" And with that, Luna grabbed the bag that she had been preparing for her adventure since before she asked Ryū for help, grabbing a mask and her cloak and took off to her balcony, and jumped.
Chronos sat on an old tree stump, carefully placed away from the party so he wouldn't be able to touch anything, but close enough to watch. He heaved a heavy sigh as he looked up to the stars that have ignored his wishes for so long sat above. He chuckled slightly as he gave one more wish, "please, release me from this torment." He gave it a second, then two, before a red, shooting star appeared to the sky.
Luna shouted with joy as she felt herself free falling. The cool, autumn air stinging slightly, but she didn't care. Even if it was for one night, she was free. As she fell closer to the ground, she could see a festival with many colorful lights, and she was eager to finally land and do what the mortals do, have fun!
The air burned as the red shooting star came closer and closer. The crowd grew wild with wonder, thinking that the star was just another act that the local wizard conjured for the festival. Little did they know that it was a run away goddess, eager to join them. Her magic and laughter twinkled in the air, infecting with joy to magic. Even the a lonesome king away from the crowd was drawn in to the joy of the star.
Luna was so excited that she almost crashed right into the town, but quickly changed her course right into the forest nearby. Crashing into a spring, soaking her shiny coak. "So I'm finally here in the mortal world! Now let's go have fun!" Luna quickly jumped out of the spring, drying herself off with her sparkling, red magic, and made way to the festival.
When Luna made it to the town, the festival was in full swing. Everyone was drinking, dancing, playing games, and having a great time in wonderous, unique costumes. Seeing everyone in costumes, Luna put on her skull mask and red robe made from the sleep god's sheep. Luna made her way throughout the crowd, her eyes fell upon a local mage putting on a magic show.
Luna hasn't seen much magic besides her own or her father's. The thought of what her father would do to her if he found out that she came down to the mortal world made her shudder, but she wasn't going to let it ruin her night. Luna watched in awe as the mage made a show of magical stars forming creatures running around above them. She watched as little dragon made of stars danced around her head then fly far away from the crowd, dancing around the head of a depressed looking male wearing a dark red cloak and a magnificent head piece. He reached out to it and the moment he reached out to it hesitantly, the little dragon disintegrated. He looked distraught, despite the wonderful party around him.
Luna was confused. Why wasn't he having fun with a big smile on his face? Not wanting to let a single person here without a smile, she approached the young male, wanting to see what was the problem. If it was a love problem, she knew for a fact that she could help! Walking up to him, she smile gently.
"What a wonderful festival, don't you think? So what are you doing all the way out here by yourself?" Chronos couldn't believe what he was hearing? Was him that she was talking to? No, it couldn't be. Everyone in his kingdom knew to not get too close to him, but why did she? He looked around, searching to see if the strange girl was talking to someone else.
"I'm talking to you, silly! Why are you out her by yourself instead of being in the circle with everyone else?" Chronos looked up to the girl. Did she have a death wish? She's too close! A pretty girl like her shouldn't be anywhere near a monster like him.
"What's your name? I'm Luna. Luna Amour. I came here from far away just to enjoy this festival, so why aren't you?" Luna introduced herself, hoping to get the lonesome stranger to open himself up. With a grunt, he replied, "you must have either a death wish, or must really have no idea who I am. Fine, I'll tell you if you go away. I am King Chronos. Now go enjoy the festival that you came so far to enjoy, and leave me alone."
Luna drowned a bit with his answer. Instead of walking away, she decided to plop down next to him. "Nuh-uh. There's no way I can enjoy this party if you're going to sit here depressed all night by yourself. So tell me, what's wrong?" Luna wasn't going to give up. Everyone was supposed to have fun at a great festival such as this, and she was going to see him smile by the end of the night!
Chronos growled, hoping to see Luna get scared and run, but she adamantly stayed put.
"If you must really know, I was born with a terrible curse. Everything I touch decays." For emphasis, Chronos grabbed a nearby flower, and almost instantly it disintegrated in his paw. "See? Now go before I accident kill you." Luna then understood. Her frown deepened and her eyes got all solemn. "What a terrible burden... no one deserves to have such a curse." Luna said emphatically.
Luna reached out to the distraught king. "Wha-what are you doing?! You'll die!" Chronos tried to back away, but she gently rubbed his shoulder. Waiting for the feeling of her paw to fade to dust, he closed his eyes, only to feel the warmth of her paw soothing him.
Opening his eyes, he realized that Luna was still there with a warm smile. How could this be? His touch would cause anything alive and organic to shrivel up and turn to dust, but she was somehow an exception. "H-how are you still alive?" He asked wearily. "Well... Long story short, I'm immortal, but let's keep that to ourselves, okay?" Chronos was washed over with a strange sensation that he has only felt maybe just a few times when he was just a young viscling prince, hope. The hardened king quickly grabbed Luna in a tight hug as he cried years worth of unshead tears. Luna just smiled and patted him as he cried, letting know that everything will be okay.
The two had enjoyed their evening, being careful to not let anyone too close get near them using Luna's magic as a small protective bubble. The two danced, ate, and played together, getting a couple of small prizes. As the two were finishing up a game, a very scared and nervous vendor hesitantly put a cute teddy bear on the counter, pushing it towards the two, trying to not get touched. The action offended Chronos, but Luna graciously accepted it, and rubbed Chronos' shoulder to reassure him that it's okay and to forget about him. The two quickly went over to the tree stump where the first met and sat down to rest after all the intense fun that they had.
Chronos had an amazing night with the beautiful stranger that had gave him hope for the first time in many years, but now he had to ask, "do you know how I can get rid of this curse?" His question caught Luna off guard, but made her smile.
"Of course I do." Luna's ears slid down sheepishly and her face burned crimson hot in embarrassment. "If you feel the same about me like I feel about you after this amazing night, then I should be able to break your curse. I know we haven't known eachother, heck, we've only met tonight, but I feel like I've known you for a very long time..."
Now it was Chronos to be caught off guard. Was she, confessing her love to him? Chronos felt every strand of his fur on his coat stand up on end, his leopard-like tail swaying back and forth nervously, his paws were sweating, and his heart was racing. Chronos tried to swallow, but his throat was suddenly dry, so he only nodded. Of course he knew how she felt, because he felt it too. A beautiful stranger just walking into his life, being the only viscet that he can touch, has in turn touched him, teaching him how to open up and feel joy, love, and hope, in just the span of one night. Thinking now, he wondered what else would change for the best if Luna was in his life from now on.
Luna burned with happiness, and embarrassment, but that didn't stop her from moving forward, taking off her mask again, and whispered, "kiss me..." Chronos didn't even hesitate. Craving another's touch and warmth, his nervousness started to ebb away into confidence. He wanted this. He wished for this, and it's coming true. He gently put his paws on her soft cheeks, and kissed her.

They both felt a bubbly, warm feeling. Opening their eyes after their kiss, they look around stunned to see that they were surrounded but red magic, Luna's magic. Knowing instantly what was happening, Luna kissed Chronos with s big hug. "It worked! Your curse is gone!" Chronos was almost too out of it from their kiss to almost not hear what Luna has said. When his mind came back down from floating on cloud nine, he realized what she said, bending over to to pick up a flower. Once a few moments passed and the flower stayed the same, he jumped up and shouted with joy. His curse was gone, he was finally free, and he had true love. He couldn't wish for more.
"Oh Luna, you've made me the happiest king in all the realms. I would like to bring you back to my castle and introduce to my kingdom the she-cet that broke my curse. Please say you will." Luna couldn't believe her luck tonight. Not only did she go to the festival like she always wanted, but she's also found true love, and he's asking her to come with him.
Before Luna could answer, her body felt a throb and a soft tune could be heard. "No... Not now!" Luna held onto Chronos, trying her hardest to stay put on the mortal ground. "Luna?! What's wrong?! Please, tell me!" Chronos frantically asked Luna what was wrong, trying to calm her down. "I won't leave him!" Was the last thing that Chronos heard before the scenery completely changed from the village festival at the brink of dawn, to a silvery ballroom, with cloud tapestries and the night sky as the ceiling.
Chronos grabbed Luna's paw, a sense of protectiveness washing over him. He will protect his savior and true love at all costs! "LUNAAAAAA!" A loud voice roared, vibrating the entire room. Luna shivered in fear. The worst case scenario had happened.
"Luna! How dare you go against my orders and not only that, but you disregard your position as the goddess of the moon and fell in love with a mortal! You have committed the most severe sin!"
Chronos was in shock. He knew that Luna was immortal, but he thought it was also a curse that broke, not her being a goddess, and the fact that she was shivering next to him in fear over the older male viscet scolding. Holding his beloved, only for her sobs to become louder and her shudders to become more violent.
"Father, please! Don't!" Father? Chronos shuddered in fear. If Luna is the goddess on the moon, and the viscet before her is her father, that means that he's the god on the sun! The king of the celestial gods! Chronos was ready to accept Luna and all of her baggage, but he had no idea just how much it really was.
"For causing such a blasphemous sin, you and your mortal lover must suffer the most harshest of punishment!" Chronos could hear his blood roar in his ears in anger and fear. "Don't punish him, father! Punish me! He's just a mortal! The blame is mine, and mine alone!" Hearing Luna's pleas had hurt his heart. He couldn't bear to hear her cry like that.
"You have a point... so, I will alter my punishment." Luna and Chronos sighed in relief, but their relief was in vain. "I will grant the mortal immortality so he can suffer." Luna felt her heart drop. Tears fell heavily from her eyes. There was nothing they could do anymore at that point, as Soleo summoned powerful magic.
The room was filled with a blinding yellow light, making Chronos and Luna feel like they're burning alive. Their screams echoed in the marbel room. Soleo's heart hurt, even if the punishment that he gave to his daughter and her true love. If only the young mortal was another god, Soleo could forgive his daughter and welcome him as a potential son-in-law, and maybe even allow him to become the next king of the celestial gods. A single year fell from the old sun king's face as he sent her unconscious body down to the mortal plane, and her true love onto the moon. "I'm sorry, my sweet, niave daughter..."
When Luna woke up, she felt pain around her, as if being pricked all over with needles. "Ack! What is this pain?!" Luna opened her eyes, shocked to see that she was covered in thorny vines, and the field that laid upon was burnt and decayed.
"Chronos? Chronos?! Where are you?!" Luna frantically looked around, only to feel a pain in her head. The pain was her father's voice. "Luna... this is your punishment. Your beloved has taken your place on the moon, and you are to forever roam the mortal world alone, cursed, and those vines shall be your reminder."
"No...No! You didn't! Father, no!" Luna backed into a tree, only to feel the bark start to rot under her paws. "No, this isn't possible! Is this what Chronos had to go through this since he was born? This... this is hell!" Luna wailed and cried.
"Luna... don't give up... come and find me... find me and let me break the curse. Let me free you..." there was a different voice this time. This voice was that of Chronos! "Chronos! I'll get to you! I promise! Even if it takes centuries, I will get to you and free you!" A single year fell from her cheek, and she smiled confidently as she shouted up to the skies. "I promise from the goddess of the moon! I will save you!"
There was no response besides the magical appearance of a single skull mask and dark, red robe that smelled like Chronos. Luna said no more as she put on the mask and robe, making her way into the forest, leaving a trail of dead grass and flowers.
And that's the true story of how the goddess on the moon was reborn as the wondering witch that searched far and wide for a way to reach her lover on the moon.