[Mint Chip]

"There's still so much to do," Zabella said with a strained huff as she set down another stack of chairs.

She looked around a moment, counting in her head as she figured up how many more stacks she'd have to carry. Lowering her ears, she grimaced visibly, I'll be here all day doing this and it still won't be done. She was setting up for a concert that would be taking place later that evening and the idea of toting chairs all day long was exhausting, to say the least.

"It'd be nice if I had more help. My sister's too busy, plus she'll be here tonight for the concert." Zabella ran her paws through her mane and then down her face. She had to think of something, she couldn't manage this by herself, especially since her promised help had never arrived. Several minutes of silences passed, Zabella still didn't have a solution or even an idea for one. With a heavy sigh, she finished setting out the stack of chairs and went back to grab the next one.

"Everyone I know is busy or AWOL, so I don't have anyone to call right now." An unfortunate truth but a truth nonetheless.

Zabella determined right then that she would just do her best to manage on her own, what other choice did she have. Several treks back and forth and it was becoming more apparent how much more difficult this was than she had originally thought. But she was far too stubborn and she knew too much was weighing on this concert tonight. She couldn't fail. Trekking back, she went to lift another stack of chairs, feeling her strength waning as she willed her body to lift them. The stack shifting and wobbling a bit in her arms as she stubbornly tried to move them. Her arms couldn't hold the weight anymore, her grip slipping. She grit her teeth, panicking as she tried to keep a firm grip on them.

Just as the chairs were about to topple, Zabella felt another pair of hands brush hers and lift the weight from her paws. She blinked in surprise at the other viscet who had come to her rescue.

"Well, looks like it's a good thing we decided to come earlier." The viscet said with a smile. "Zabella, right?" He questioned over his shoulder as he turned to carry to the stack to the grand hall.

"Um, yeah, that's right. And you are?" Zabella questioned as she followed swiftly after, trotting ahead to open the door for him.

"Oakley. It's a pleasure to meet you, Zabella." Oakley added smoothly.

Zabella blushed involuntarily, clearing her head of his velvety voice. "What are you doing here? Er, I mean how did you know I'd need help?"

"Well I didn't actually," Oakley replied honestly. He set the chairs down and began moving them out, "But when we were strolling by, they thought it looked like very few were here to help set up for tonight. So we decided to stop in and see if you were needing some assistance."

"We? They?" Zabella questioned, looking around as she spotted two very properly dressed viscets. She eyed their clothing, they were oddly dressed in comparison to what she was used to. "Ah, uh, hello." She called to them with a wave, not wanting to seem rude.

The two pink viscets giggled to each other, waving back before making their way over there.

"See? I told you, Oakley." One viscet chimed. "Hello, my name is Eloise. We'd heard about this concert that was being put on through the paper. We're quite excited to attend, really." She paused a moment as she surveyed the area. "We thought perhaps you could use some help in setting up and decorating."

Oakley rolled his eyes with a smile. "I'm going to go get some more chairs," He said in dismissal as he walked off.

Zabella glanced back at him, noticing his attire seemed a little too dressy for casual dress. "I'm sorry, were you three going somewhere?"

"Oh no," The other viscet replied quickly. "We were just taking a stroll. It is a nice day out after all." She laughed softly, "Oh, where are my manners, I'm Lucilla."

"You look rather exhausted." Eloise commented, "Perhaps you could show us the decorations and how you'd like them done? We could get to work on that while you rest for a few moments."

"Uh, yeah, sure," Zabella said after a moment's hesitation. She motioned the two to follow her as she led them to the main stage and explained what she was needing. After the full explanation, she showed them to the room with all the materials for the decorations. It was a bit of a mess but she had barely had time to get all the materials the night before, much less get them sorted.

"Well, I do believe we have our work cut out for us," Lucilla said as she looked to Eloise. The two chuckled a little before setting to work on sorting everything so they could begin. "You go on and rest for a few minutes. We'll handle this in no time at all."

Zabella eyed them uncertainly before nodding. She had to trust that these two knew what they were doing, she didn't have the time to argue when there was still yet so much to do. Still, she did take them up on the offer to go relax for a few minutes. Her muscles ached as did her head from all the stressing. After a brief fifteen minute break, she pushed herself up and went to check on Oakley.

As she stepped into the grand hall, her eyes widened a bit with surprise. The progress he had made in the time she had been gone was astounding. It was double, if not triple, what she could have done in the same time. A smile spread across her maw as she felt some relief. 'Perhaps there is hope of getting everything done before tonight.' She stepped in to help Oakley for a bit until her arms couldn't handle it anymore. Oakley insisted she remained in the grand hall and to unstack the chairs as he brought them out. That turned out to be a much faster way of getting the chair set out and far less straining on Zabella. Time passed by quicker than she thought though, she needed to check on the girls and see how the decorations were coming along. Just as she was about to step into the hall to make her way to where they were, she saw them heading her way with baskets filled with decorations. She held the door open for them and followed after them onto the stage. She and Oakley stepped up onto ladders to drape the high decorations around the stage. In what seemed like no time at all, they had finished nearly everything. There was only a handful of things left to do and most of that was things Zabella would have to do herself.

"You guys have been so incredibly helpful, thank you so much," Zabella said with a bow. The three chuckled a little at her gesture but smiled in return.

The last things to set up where the sound equipment, which considering where Zabella worked and her sister, she was very familiar with the setup. Oakley helped do more of the heavy lifting, while the girls did the final touch-ups on any of the decorations and placements. There were several pieces of sound equipment that would need two people to lift and just as Zabella was about to get up to go help with that, she saw Oakley and another viscet carrying it in. She tilted her head, surprised by the sudden extra help. She was thankful for it though as she knew her arms could not have handled another bought of heavy lifting at this point.

The two men brought over the equipment, setting it down. Zabella opened her mouth to thank this new helper but stopped mid-sentence. Her voice catching as she audibly gasped.

"August Maxwell??"

The bright viscet smiled, straightening up to look at her. "Seems everything is about done, I saw this charming fella out there trying to lift this by himself. I figured since I was a bit early I'd help carry it in."

"I greatly appreciate the help, I certainly couldn't have carted that all the way in here by myself," Oakley replied with a chuckle, the two were both laughing as if they were old friends.

Zabella blinked, her mind unable to process all of this. "I wasn't expecting you for another hours or two."

"Oh, I always like to come early to these sorts of events. Usually, there's still some work that needs to be done and I like being able to help out." August replied, twitching his large feathered ears. He was looking over the whole hall, taking it all in. "I've got to say, you all have done a wonderful job on this."

This was too surreal for Zabella. She didn't expect to meet their singer for the concert before the concert time and really didn't expect him to be so down to earth. She was speechless.

"If you don't mind, I'll get these connected for you and help Oakley with the last of the equipment." August stepped past them as he continued with the setup.

Oakley smiled, not minding a moment to rest before more lifting. He looked to Zabella who's gaze was down. Something felt off, he stepped a little closer.

"Is something the matter?" He questioned, concerned.

Zabella shook her head, her gaze remaining fixed on the floor.

"Are you certain?" He pressed, not believing her.

"I just..." Her voice trailed off, she put her hands to her face as her shoulders shook softly. "Why are you all here?" Her voice coming out in a quiet sob.

"To help, that's why--" Oakley began but was cut off.

"Why are you all here? Helping? No one wanted to help with this... why are you all so willing?" Zabella was a bit overwhelmed. Today had been a roller coaster and it'd taken its toll. She was so incredibly thankful for their help but she just couldn't grasp why they were all so willing. Why did three strangers, well dressed like they come from uptown want to help with this? Why did the star of the concert want to help too? She wanted to express her gratitude but all it was coming out as was stifled sobs.

Lucilla and Eloise had noticed something was up and came over quickly. Lucilla blaming Oakley for having done something to upset her. The two squabbling a bit in the background as Eloise stepped close. She put an arm around Zabella as she tried to calm her down. She could hear her repeating the same questions in her soft sobs.

"Why?" Eloise echoed, "Are you honestly asking why?"

Zabella didn't respond.

"Oh, Zabella, the answer is so simple," Eloise replied with a smile. "We wanted to. We wanted to help and get involved with this. To show our support for what you're putting on."

Zabella looked up, teary-eyed still. "What?"

The pop star had stepped back over after he'd finished, seeing the situation. He listened to Eloise a moment before smiling, "You're doing all of this for charity. You put yourself through all of this, determined to see it through so you can help this community." He had been contacted weeks ago about this charity concert to raise money for the local shelter and children's home. He had pushed everything aside when his manager told him about it.

Lucilla and Oakley had stopped fussing and were listening. Both of them nodding in agreement with August.

"We all are here to support this event. To support you as you are the one that made it all possible." Eloise added.

Zabella looked around at them all, tears still streaking through her fur. This wasn't the normal crowd she called her friends but in that moment, she couldn't have asked for better one. With their support and help, they finished everything with plenty of time to spare.

When the time came for the concert, Zabella stood backstage watching the performance. August performed his heart and soul out on the stage as he always did. Happy atmosphere enveloped everyone there and made it quite the memorable night. It wasn't until after the event was over that Zabella got news of how much they had raised in donations. The amount had been phenomenal and far more than Zabella had hoped for. She smiled as she was closing up the concert hall and stood outside in the cool summer night air.

I never could have done it without them.

( 2133 / 2500 words)



Characters used: Zabella, Oakley, Eloise, Lucilla, & August

all owned by me

[Gadgetrocks]

Aulelio & Takeo
Father and Son sat high in a mango tree, both surveying the glimmering lights of the annual summer festival the humans celebrated, young humans running down streets, waving yellow, red, and green streamers, fairy lights strung trees, the smell of macadamia shave ice and roasted mango filling the air. What a prefect summer evening for a father and son.

18 hours earlier
Aulelio nudged Takeo gently with his nose.
"Wake up Tekeo. We have a lot to see today."
Tekeo had only spent one day on Vehara, and most of that was recovering from his near death incounter with the sea, so he was pretty excited to get to see the rest of the wondrous island. He stood up, arching his back like a cat, a long yawn escaping his throat. He and Aulelio both stood in the early morning light, golden furs shining.
"Let's go get breakfast," Said Aulelio, "Have you ever had a mango before?" Tekeo shook his head, a mango was something he'd never even heard of before. They ran to a nearby tree, bursting with rip yellow orange fruit. Tekeo pulled one off, his sharp canines sinking into the soft fruit. He marveled at the bitter skin, the soft and sweet inside, the juices bursting in his mouth. Aulelio's facial expression shifted from his usual worriedness to happiness.
"Sometime you should try a roasted mango, with the pink kimchi salt! It's the best!" Aulelio isn't an super adult viscet, Takeo actually being an egg Aulelio found than lost, so he almost acted like an older brother to Tekeo, having a young adult playfulness in him. Aulelio showed Tekeo the village, the young children happy to have another fluffy viscet to pet. After quite a bit of belly rupping, they went to the beach.

Kaliyah rescues a kidnapped viscetling.

Tiki
Tiki cast the ball of purple flames up once more, the last soul finding itself at the gates to the below light, the underworld. She slumped onto the dirt road, exhausted by how much magic she had used up.
"Why did I ever let that annoying little sprite turn me into a god, how did he even turn me into a god, I thought he was joking. And now I've gotta go burn all this plague out of my fur..." Plague was rare, but a few nearby villages had gotten nasty cases of it, Tiki wasn't afraid of being taken by plague herself, being immortal and all, but of spreading it to another village, that would just be way more work for her. Tiki drew her paws back together, and her body was consumed in a column of purple flames.

The Below light, such a fitting name for such a place. Tiki materialized back at gate seven, the gate of judgement. Almost like the Egyptian afterlife, the part of the Below light had multiple gates souls had to go through, and Tiki loved this part, the challenges, the excitement, and it was a lot brighter than most of the Below. And then she was back to reality.
"Oh great. More plague." Tiki surveyed the village in front of her, viscets coughing and bedridden, practicly dying. Tiki did not want to deal with any more death. She strode into the village determined to fix what was happening so she didn't have to deal with it later.
"Turn back! We have plague!" A fairly healthy looking viscet stepped out of the way, paws out to block Tiki from coming any closer.
"I know." Tiki just sidestepped the woman, boldy standing in the middle of the village. The lady followed her.
"I beg of you, leave! Don't die like the rest of us!"
"I heard you the first time, I'm not leaving. I'm fixing it." Tiki took out a small black leather powder with drawing a pawful of sparkling black powder, powdered black unicorn horns, the most potent healing substance on the whole planet of Iytis. She pointed her paw to the mid day sun, white in the center of the sky. Flames billowed up her body again, like ribbons of purple flame, edged in white. As they reached her paws, a white flame glowed, a nearly incinerating light. Then all was still.

Tiki was back in the Below.
"Oh great. Did I just blow up that whole village?" Tiki always appeared down in the Below after she "died". Anytime something happened to her that would kill a normal viscet would teleport her back to the BelowLight, her origin point. She teleported back up, her purple flames ebbing up her legs. Good news was, the village was not a crater, the bad thing, Tiki saw no viscets. A door opened, a young viscetling bounding out, wrapping their arms around Tiki's legs.
"You saved your village!" She patted them on the head.
"No problem." Maybe she'd stay in this village longer.
[508/2500]

Tea saves someone from their future.

Aasira
"Stop, theif!" Aasira had heard those dreaded words more times than she could count, and no words she hated more. She sized up the guard who had called out, he was a bulky brown male, his paw steps heavy, his gait slow. She could beat him, he was already panting in exhaustion, she would need to give him some running tips later. Aasira ran at a nearly frightening pace, dust building along her paws. In one quick movement, she vaulted over some crates, straight onto the sloped roof of a nearby building. The landing was good, all four paws touching the roof before she shot up again, the bronze cuffs attached to her belt clinking. She hated those cuffs, how sad a staring viscets eyes were when the clamped on wrists, stealing any more hopes of a descent life, condemning one to a royal dungeon. Her paws slid along the tiles, she could see the their weaving through the crowds, nearly tripping over the cobbled roads. From Aasira's vantage point, she saw that they were young, grey and white fur scruffy, eyes full of the fear of being caught. She ran across the roofs, green tail waving like a banner in a strong wind. Her legs scrunched, launching her towards her target, paws outstretched to land. Whump! She landed in the hard packed dirt, skidding through the dust. She approached a covered alley, shadows mixing with summer light, giving the alley a warmer feel than it would have in winter. She walked in, the young theif looking up with sadness in his starry blue eyes. He put his sachel down, a few turnips tumbling onto the cobbles.
"I'm sorry. Its just..." He stammered and stalled, "My family's hungry, and I have little siblings an..." He trailed off, head hung in shame. She put her sword away, stepping a little closer to him, he couldn't have been more than thirteen.
"Its ok, you can keep the turnips, I'll pay for them. And you can have this." She poured some coins into his paws, his eyes practically widening in wonder and amazement.
"Thank you ma'am! Wait... Won't you get in trouble from not taking me in?"
"It'll be ok, go bring those back to your family." She smiled at him, "Try not to steal anymore, ok?" He nodded, running into darkness.
"Where's the robber?" The slow guard was finally there, kneeling over in exhaustion.
"He got away." Aasira turned her head slowly to the guard, "Watch out! That crates going to fall on you!"
"Wha?" A wooden crate fell from the roof of a nearby building, conking the larger guard directly on the head. Aasira covered her face with her paws, starting at the unconscious guard.
"Maybe he's not the best candidate for a guard, well I guess, neither am I." She dragged him back to the palace, explaining how the theif had escaped with the turnips, hitting the guard with his sword and creating a crate avalanche to run away. As the Queen dismissed Aasira and sent a medic to care of the unconscious guard. Aasira thought to herself,
"Another day, another lie."
[522/2500]

[dzo]

Gray, the biggest lover of books you might ever find, decided to do the unlikely. She wanted to do something good this summer. She brainstormed ideas, but really couldn't think of any unique ideas. She thought maybe she could get her brain active and thoughts rolling by reading something. When she approached her shelves packed with hundreds of books- it dawned on her. She didn't really need to keep them all, and she was soon grabbing for books she has already read and doesn’t want to keep anymore to donate them.

Rockford, a busy college student, doesn’t have time to do any big community changing activities. So when his school has a blood drive, he decides it would be cool if he donated blood, because thats at least something helpful. He was pretty excited and a little nervous, though he forgot it would hurt that much, so he was grumpy because of the aching pain afterwards.

Victory is quite the motherly viscet. Because Samael is hesitant on having kids of their own, Victory grabs at any chance to be a parent she can- whether its babysitting the neighborhood children, or in this case taking in an abandoned, orphan egg so it at least has some sort of family. She has done this many times- raising the visclings herself while giving them a foster home until they can find forever homes, or, occasionally grow up and legally be allowed to live on their own.

Ianthina is a frequent beach visitor, and she absolutely loves wildlife and nature. She spends most of her time outside, and she simply cannot bare to see the land all dirty, filled with garbage, and the animals unhealthy and in danger. She usually picks up any litter she sees and properly disposes of it, but every so often she goes on a mission to hunt for and clean up the trash on the beach.

Raph gives all of her performance money to a homeless viscet, even though she too herself is homeless/wip thoughts: Picture her in costume sitting in an alley with a spare hat & cardboard sign, sitting sprawled out looking into hat with a few coins//*grumbles* action near her stomach// add thoughts in speech bubble: "at least he wont be hungry tonight"

[corgiboy]

omg im dying these viscets are so pretty im going to be all over this!!

[ShimmerSolarPets]

The grief of losing her parents were not going to be her shackles.

Mizuki looked upon her face in the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her- a pale, sickly figure with a stern look. The crown sat on her head, gleaming in the light of the sun. The curtains of her room were wide open, so that Mizuki could constantly be reminded of the poor state her kingdom was in. A week had passed since the coronation, and it was time for those tyrants exploiting the small kingdom of Chiori to know that their new queen was not going to sit idly by, bowing in submission under the feet of oppression. No, as much as she hated the fact that she lost her parents for this, it was time for a revolution. Draping her red silk scarf around her neck, she ran a paw through her jet black mane. Her royal jewelry were already in place- polished to a gleaming shine. However, none beat the gleam of the horns sprouting from her head, looking as if it was carved out of solid gold. Golden horns were the symbol of great fortune in Chiori. The crowns of the previous great rulers of Chiori had been fashioned with horns of pure gold, but Mizuki's was different. She was already a golden reindeer from birth. Her crown was simple- a golden band with a red gem. Mizuki wasn't going to rob more riches from her impoverished citizens just to make something as symbolic as a crown. No, today was the day the ruler of Chiori was finally going to give back, after decades of being robbed. A knock came from the door of her room. Taking in a few herbal pills, she took graceful strides towards the door and opened it.

"High General," she greeted, rather bluntly as was the voice she always spoke with. The Viscet in front of her saluted.
"Your Highness, permission to speak my thoughts?" he asked.
"Go ahead," she said. The young queen invited him in, and gestured towards the couch in the middle of her grand suite. The queen closed her door. As the High General took his place on the couch, Mizuki sat opposite to him. The young queen felt a sudden pain in her head, though her face remained a mask. Curse this illness. Golden horns were supposed to be a symbol of fortune, yet she had been burdened by a supposedly terminal illness since birth. Supposedly. Her luck had kept her alive all these years. "Your Highness, are you sure it is wise to challenge Lord Shar? He has the greatest influence over our land thus far," he spoke, in a low tone.
"High General, I understand your concern," she said, her tone as serious and cold as ever. Standing up, she walked over to the window and gestured outside. "But look at the state of our kingdom? Would you rather we stand idly by as my parents did and let ourselves be trodden upon by our oppressors?"
"With all due respect, Your Highness, your parents were merely trying to minimize-"
"My parents were cowards," she snapped, cutting through his words like a razor sharp knife. She then doubled over in a fit of coughing, and the High General quickly ran over to support her. "Forgive me," he mumbled.
"No, no. It's fine. I understand why you would be concerned," Mizuki replied, reaching around her desk and grabbing hold of her herbal tea. She put her mouth to the cup and sipped it, letting the warmth and fragrance of the tea wash over her. "I only ask that you put your trust in me, High General."
"I am utterly devoted to the royal family of Chiori. Whatever you decide, I shall carry out. No questions asked," he said, saluting once more. At that, Mizuki cracked a small smile. For him and the rest of her subjects... she will not fail.

A few hours after her meeting with the High General, Mizuki found herself in the conference room. Usually, meetings with dignitaries of other factions would take place in the throne room, but after that accident that claimed her parents' lives... well, the throne room was still under reconstruction. A Viscet with colors of snow stood next to her. A smirk was on her face. "Well, well, Mizu-Mizu... Err, sorry, you're 'Your Highness' now, right?" the Viscet said.
"Eirwen, my friend, you're probably the only one in existence that could call me 'Mizu-Mizu' without me calling for your head," Mizuki said, an amused smile playing on her lips.
"Right!" Eirwen said, a carefree grin on her face. "This is kinda a bold plan you're going for. You sure it's gonna work?"
"How many years have you been friends with me, Eirwen?" Mizuki said. "If there's anything I completely trust, it's my reindeer powers of insane luck." She cocked her head to one side, as if to make a point. A chuckle slipped from her lips as her childhood friend laughed. Eirwen was an oddity. She'd come from nowhere, but she somehow had a strange connection with death. As a child, Eirwen had been brought in to diagnose Mizuki's condition in hopes that her connection with death could unravel some mysteries regarding her illness. It didn't, but at least Mizuki got a childhood friend to help lessen her deprivation of social contact early in life... and now Eirwen was her advisor.

"Announcing the arrival of Lord Shar!"
Mizuki and Eirwen turned towards the large double doors of the conference room, as did all the other people present. A large, towering Viscet strolled through the doorway, glaring daggers at Mizuki. "What is the meaning of this, little queen?!" he demanded, slamming a parchment onto the round mahogany table, with the royal seal clearly visible on it.
"It is what it is, Lord Shar," Mizuki said, calmly. "An eviction order."
"You dare try to chase me away from Chiori like this?! Even with all the power I have on it?!"
"Technically, Lord Shar, since Chiori never sold the land to you, it is still under Queen Mizu-Mi- er... Mizuki's jurisdiction," Eirwen put in, a smirk on her face.
"I refuse to acknowledge this! Look, you drive me away, and all the other kingdoms are going to come for your land!"
"I believe Chiori has the capability of defending itself if only a quarter of our Viscetpower isn't placed under servitude by you," Mizuki calmly retorted. As expected, Lord Shar still refused. As he went on ranting, Mizuki let Eirwen take care of it as she went to retrieve a deck of playing cards. Returning, she showed the deck to Lord Shar. "Care for a game, Lord Shar? I heard you pride yourself on your ability to gamble," Mizuki offered.
"We're in the middle of serious business here, Queen."
"I know, I mean... I called you here in the first place," Mizuki said, letting a calm smile flit onto her face. Through Eirwen's eyes, however, that smile spelled danger. "How about a game to settle this? If I win, you'll abide to my terms. If I lose, Chiori will abide to yours." Everyone in the room gasped, except for Eirwen, who raised a quizzical brow. Lord Shar let out a roaring laugh.
"You dare challenge me to a game? Young queen, you have no idea what you're in for!" the noble mocked.
"That may be so," Mizuki sighed. "I am just a new, inexperienced queen, after all. But you have no reason not to accept, have you? Unless you're... afraid?"
"Afraid? How bold of you. I'd even throw in a piece of my own land to the bet! Drives in just how confident I am about winning!"
Mizuki smiled coldly. "It's a deal."

Mizuki and Lord Shar sat down. Eirwen and a person from Lord Shar's side dealt the cards, to ensure fairness. 'Luck... don't fail me now,' she silently thought to herself. Eyes narrowed, cards in paw... An intense match began between the two of them. They'd chosen a game based on pure luck. It was a battle between the fortune of Lord Shar and Queen Mizuki. Everyone in the room watched with bated breath. A bead of perspiration rolled down Mizuki's temple. She was starting to feel queasy- an effect of anxiety mixed with her own illness. She was placing the fate of her kingdom on her fortune. This better not fail. But looking back on her life and how things had always tipped in her favor, Mizuki would place all of her faith in her fortune. If she failed this, she might as well succumb to her terminal illness already. It was intense, with high stakes on the line. But she succeeded, as expected of her fortune. It pulled through once more. Laying down her cards on the table, a smirk was on her face. A cold, dangerous smirk. "I win, Lord Shar."
"No... That's impossible!" Lord Shar shouted. "You must have cheated!"
"Everyday, I have to cheat death itself, but I have not cheated in this game, Lord Shar," Mizuki said. "Or else your entourage would have some things to say." Lord Shar dropped his cards on the table, flabbergasted and speechless. He went pale. Mizuki's smile only grew. The young queen gathered up her playing cards into a deck and handed it over to one of her servants. "I am expecting you and your people to leave my kingdom by tomorrow, Lord Shar. Ah, and if you could process that agreement of handing over your land to Chiori, that would be splendid." Flipping back her black hair, she rose against the incessant throbbing of her head and the burning of her stomach. "I wouldn't suggest going against your word. There are plenty of witnesses here. I wonder how your people would respect a leader who went against his word, after so much confidence."

Mizuki gave a polite bow to Lord Shar as she waved a paw for her soldiers and servants to escort the noble out. "Good day, Lord Shar," she said, watching the tall figure in all of his crushed glory walking out the door with his tail between his legs. When the double doors closed on them, the white-furred queen immediately collapsed into her chair and started coughing. "Water," she managed to say between her fits of coughs at one of her servants, who quickly rushed to get her some. When she returned, Mizuki quickly took the cup from her paw and downed it, feeling the soothing freshness of the liquid trickle down. "That was so cool, Mizu-Mizu," Eirwen said, after all was well with the sickly queen's condition. Smiling, Mizuki unfurled a large map on the table. She placed a pin onto the reclaimed land. A golden pin. "For Chiori."

The next day, Mizuki oversaw the departure of Lord Shar. As her carriage made its way through the impoverished streets of the land that Lord Shar had ruled over, her subjects cheered. "Hail, Queen Mizuki!! Our savior, our leader!" they chorused, throwing flower petals at her carriage. Mizuki forced a smile, then quickly drew her curtains.
"I'm allergic to flowers," she muttered, scowling to herself. It was a pain, not being able to join in her subjects' revelry. Though hearing their cheers was enough for Mizuki. To know that she had made a difference for these people lifted up her spirits. Looking down at her silk scarf, she smiled to herself. "Mother, Father... Watch me," she murmured. "One day, I'll be known as Empress Mizuki. You'll be proud of me." From this point forth, Mizuki was going to make sure everyone got enough food, clothing... everything. She wanted to see her subjects smile, free from servitude, and enjoy the sun, the flowers... everything Chiori had to offer that Mizuki was unable to enjoy.

But for them, she would do anything. Reclaiming this land was only the beginning.

----

"Whoa, Mizu-Mizu. You serious?"
Mizuki stared at the unfurled map on the conference table, having placed a few more pins on the map. One for each reclaimed land, and new land gained. Chiori was going through a breakthrough ever since Mizuki rose into power. She had driven off the tyrants oppressing her kingdom with her wits and her new forces. "When have I ever not been?" Mizuki replied, shrugging at Eirwen. Eirwen laughed. Mizuki put two red pins on the map. "These two lords are the only ones left until a whole Chiori is reclaimed," Mizuki mused.
"Yeah? How are you planning on driving them away, Mizu-Mizu?" Eirwen asked, munching on a local Chiori snack as she did so. Since there were only the two of them in the room, Eirwen was rudely sitting on the large round table. Inappropriate for a royal advisor, but Mizuki found her carefree, colloquial nature endearing.
"Simple. Turn them against each other through sabotage, then strike them down while they're not looking," the young queen replied, with a matter-of-fact tone. Eirwen's jaw dropped as she jumped off the table. She wagged a paw at Mizuki. "Dude. Mizu-Mizu, you're a savage."
"A civilized one, I hope?" Mizuki said, letting an amused smirk play on her lips. The young queen moved towards the window in the conference room, that was also overlooking her kingdom. She motioned a paw for Eirwen to join her. Raising an eyebrow, the snow-colored Viscet joined the young queen as they stared out at the kingdom. "Tell me, friend. What do you see?" Mizuki said.
"Uh.... People?" Eirwen replied.
"And what are they doing?"
"Going about their daily lives, shopping in the markets, farming... and stuff?"
"Exactly." Mizuki sighed, placing her paws against the windowsill. The sounds of laughter floated from the town closest to the palace into the room as her silk scarf danced in the wind. Crops were flourishing, everyone wasn't hungry anymore... What a beautiful kingdom Chiori had become. This was the kind of Chiori she envisioned for her kingdom. And she would do anything to keep it this way.
"Isn't it so much better than before?" Mizuki said. "After we reclaim those two plots of land, we can start to actually focus on expanding Chiori."
"Whoa. Ambition," Eirwen laughed. "You've made enough of a difference already, y'know? Don't you wanna take a break?"
"Like I can ever get one," Mizuki said, laughing in bitter humor. "For the future of this kingdom, I will make all the difference necessary. One day, this kingdom won't even be a kingdom anymore. It'll be an empire- the greatest one in this world."

Turning to her friend, a rare genuine smile appeared on Mizuki's face. "You with me, friend?" she asked, stretching out a paw. Eirwen grinned. The snow-colored Viscet took it, and they shared a firm handshake.

"Like I could say no to the queen that annoys Death with every breath she takes."

Featured Viscets: Mizuki, Eirwen

Word count: 2490 words

[fromage]

A stranger going by the name of Ohana Tilo had descended upon land of violence and destruction with a peace proposition. Life of family, happiness, civilization even. Blood and tragedy will be a thing of the past. Unfortunately, not a lot were welcoming to this idea, finding it ludicrous to begin with. There was absolutely no point in desiring a "happier" life if everyone is going to die in end anyway, right? Yes, but at least they would pass at old age with happiness and completed dreams, not by violence.

After rounding up whoever supported the vision of peace life and civilization, they chased Ohana and her supporters out, not so surprisingly, with violence, forcing them to find a new land to execute their foolish vision of happy lives. It was not what she aimed for, desiring to change Silvmor, but she sets out to seek a new land reluctantly. It was for the better; fighting against them would only end in more lives lost.

Ohana swept her paw over the horizons as they ascended a mountain, her voice showed confidence as she announced: "Here we are. Aeroia, land of dreams." The viscets that joined her had started to lose hope, assuming there are no new, unclaimed lands to be found after Silvmor. They were so glad to find that they've been awfully wrong, hopes and dreams restored. Eager to get started, to attempt their paw at building sturdy shelters, to grow something, possibly even forget their pasts with one other.

Years had passed since their arrival, much to expectations; things were overwhelming, but none wanted to quit. Not when they had sturdy roof over their heads, sustainable grown food, and most importantly, to see smiles on visclings' faces. The population had grew due to incredible gain in visclings, and nobody were complaining. Instead of avoiding having them out of fear that they would be killed, everyone desired to bear offspring many as they could have. Ohana had proved that life could be different in Aeroia, and it will be even more different as time pass, providing more things to discover, adapt, learn, and grow.

Decades later, Ohana had her power ripped away by a new, godawful leader, but she still loved going to this particular festival. Everyone called it Day of Dreams to celebrate the day they found peace, civilization, and happiness. As well to honor Ohana for providing them the means to make their dreams come true, without her; they'd be stuck fighting for their lives to literal death in Silvmor. The woman loved seeing the decorations and stalls being set up for this festival. It reminded her there's still good in Aeroia despite their new leader.

[449/500]

Viscets used:
Ohana Tilo

[Barnes&Rogers]

"ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏᴇs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴠɪsᴄᴇᴛ ᴅᴏ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ/ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ ᴏʀ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ's ʟɪᴠᴇs?"

[username ;; Barnes&Rogers]xxx[viscets mentioned ;; stardust]

[viscets ;; stardust] [words ;; 1,120]


A lump of clay. A sculptor. A pinch of dust. Dust, from the heart of a one hundred thousand year old dying star. A creature, built by the paws of a god, imbued with the grace, the purpose, the beauty, it was designed to posses. A soul. Kind, gentle, protecting. A job. To help those who could not help themselves. It contained a power known to no viscet. It contained the power of the gods.

Silence. Darkness. Stillness. Those were the first things Stardust knew, the first things she remembered feeling, seeing, hearing. They were the constants in her life, for so long, and then, they were gone. With a burning pain, a heat that just got hotter, they were replaced: by noise, light, movement. Everything changed, everything was different. It was so new. New, but exciting. Leaving the nothingness that had surrounded her, she learned to move, to feel, to learn. There was no looking back.

'Stardust.' The ancient viscet glanced down from her perch upon a tree-branch. She was greeted by the sight of Nebula, the viscet who was assigned to care for her, who held a cup in her paw. 'You will need to heal, if you are planning on setting out tomorrow.' She knew Nebula was right, yet, the feeling of the wind in her mane, whispering stories in her ears at it passed, was enough to make her wish she could stay there forever. When she didn't budge, the younger viscet sighed. 'This tree has been here for generations. It shall be here still, when you return.'

'And what of the wind? Will it still hold me captive by its words, if I am to leave it once more?'

Another sigh. 'The wind will remain, and its opinion of you will not differ.' Slowly, Stardust unfurled her tail, her shoulders slumped as leapt from the branch, her paws hitting the ground softly. Even in her disgruntlement, her landing was smooth, graceful. Taking the small cup from Nebula, she threw back the contents within, scrunching up her nose at the metallic taste that flowed through her mouth, coating her taste buds with its putrid flavour. Cleaning the remnants from around her jaws, she handed the cup back, letting the warmth of the drink spread throughout her insides.

'You have my thanks, Nebula.' Turning away from her tree, and the secrets it held within its wooden grasp, she headed for the four walls she had been calling home for the last two decades. Inside, the fire was burning away, its amber embers flickering in and out of existence with every breath of air that passed through. Settling onto the nest of fleece she had created, she wrapped her tail around her face, the glow of her antlers reflecting the light of the fire throughout the room. It only took her moments to let the veil of sleep accept her into its cushioned grip, and the world of dreams came alive in her mind.

When she awoke, the pain that had been radiating through her chest the night before, had returned, spreading though her lower torso. It was time.

'Are you to leave at this hour?' She nodded at the question, pressing her paw gently upon Nebula's as she passed. 'Then with luck will you go, and safely home you will return.' The young viscet backed away, her head lowered so as not to bare witness to the fate that was to be performed. Carefully, Stardust drew her paw across the runes carved against the wall, their divots glowing with the power that surged through her paw. The swirling blue hues of the rift before her, though she had seen it hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands, of times before, still had her captivated, in a state of pure bewilderment, and as she closed her eyes, she could feel it drawing her energy towards it. With a single step, her whole body disappeared within its icy depths, and it closed around her, disappearing before an audience of none.

~~

The pain her chest had begun to radiate throughout her whole body, and she knew that she was close. She had been brought, to a world she had been yet to visit before. At least, one she had no visited in an age. Who she was looking for, she did not know, but his story was seared into her mind. A runaway, a victim, a survivor. She knew him as soon as she saw him. The rain hit hard against the ground, but that didn't stop her from climbing out of the bus she had been placed upon, letting her fur droop with the weight the water added to it. She was in no way as soaked, however, as the young viscling who stood just outside of the shelter. His fur was stuck to his skin, and had it stopped raining then and there, his fur would've contained enough water to start it up again.

'Hey! Hey, you!' She called out to him, her voice carrying even through the sound the rain brought with it. He only glanced up at her, a look of both sadness, and fleeting anger, across his tired expression.

'I'm going,' He muttered, taking another step, further into the rain.

'No, No,' She said, this time quieter, reaching out and grabbing his arm. He hesitated then, looking at her over his shoulder. He looked as if he wanted to give in, and just collapse to the ground. 'I was only going to ask if you needed a ticket?' The look of hopefulness on his expression was enough to make the pain retract, if only partially. Nodding dumbfoundedly, he followed her onto the wheeled contraption, and as the doors closed behind him, she smiled softly. He was going home.

Her own journey home was distant, but the looks shared between a mother and her son returning home after months of absence, gave her enough strength to forgo it. The rift opened once more, her body released from it slowly, before it disappeared again, and she collapsed to the ground, feeling drained, but achieved. The pain in her chest had subsided, and all that remained was a distant longing, to have something she hadn't; that feeling never left.

She didn't return inside, instead making her way along the path until she reached the tall tree, its gangly limps hanging from multiple sections on its trunk. Crouching, she pounced up, claws digging into the branch as she steadied herself upon it. Lowering her body onto it, she settled contentedly, the soft breeze shrouding her in a blanket of comfort. And until the next viscet in need, that is where she would stay.

[total words ;; 1200/2500]
[stardust]

[tenlittlesoldierboys]

res

maybe writing Lilian's story?!
From a soldier, fighting for his country - to his parents dying, murdered by the government - to him dealing with his PTSD - to him joining the rebels to avange his parents ?!

[Tordier]

【xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx】
Featuring: Ay
Words: 500 - 2,500 Total
【xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx】

A Day in the Life of Ay

Every morning, Ay woke up to the comforting scents of brewing coffee and toasted bread. They were the typical scents of a cafe, such as the one she lived in. Even after the recent move from Kazakhstan to the United States, Ay could count on the familiarity of those cafe smells.

What does your viscet do to make a difference in their community, family, or friends' lives?

WIP - Notes for Now

[Pacsaj]

Aloha tries to help Zero
Knock! Knock!
“What now!”
I got up from my comfy spot on the couch and sluggishly walked up to the door. I looked into the hole and to my surprise see one of my good buddies. He was soaked, rain dripping from every piece of fur. He looked miserable. Cautiously I opened the door. “Are you alright?”
“He is dead!! Dead because of me!”
“Ok I will take that as a no. Don’t worry Zero, everything will be alright. Come inside.” I lifted him up from the ground and steered him inside. Slowly I sat him down onto the couch and went to make Zero a cup of hot Cocoa. Gently I sat it down and wrapped him in a blanket. “Ok now tell me everything that happened.” He looked up at me, sadness pouring from his eyes. “Grandpa, He was sick...”

It had to be at least a few hours when he finished his story. “Damn that was depressing...thanks for telling me.”
“But don’t you get it!? I can’t live like this anymore Aloha! I don’t want to be weak and homeless. Ya I can be homeless but certainly not weak.” The expression on his face changed. The once dramatic and happy go lucky Viscet looked serious and mad. “So what are you going to do about it then.”
“I don’t know. Before it happened I met a group of rouge Viscets. They were strong, fierce, and knew how to get things done. I was thinking of doing the same.”
“Ya sure do that but one problem, your not like them! You never should be. Those are the guys who get in trouble, the killers.” I tried to read his face. It was emotionless, he was thinking. He looked me in the eyes ,with confidence. “Well lucky for me I’ve got nothing else to lose.”

“Nothing else to lose!!! Are you crazy? You have a whole life ahead of you and you have...well you have me.”
“Look, I know what you doing and it won’t work. You are a millionaire and I am homeless. For all I know you should want me gone.” Is he serious? I’d better check the date. I reached into my pocket and grabbed my phone It read “April 2nd.” Shoot! He is a day late. “Haha Zero. Your a day late.”
“What?!” He grabbed my phone and looked at the date. “Dude this is serious. Do you seriously not believe me!?” He started to storm out of my house when the craziest thing happened. I ran up to Zero and gave him a kiss. That’s when it became crazy. I haven’t ever kissed anyone in my life. Oh except that one guy from high school who turned out to be a jerk, oh and that other guy from work. This was different though. Zero looked at me surprised. “What was that?”
“That my dear friend, is what you have to lose.” He just stared at me with the blankest face I have ever seen.
“Well I guess, if that’s that case maybe we can make something work.”
(513 words)
Juno-helps lost eggs
It was an average day at first, as I live alone. Every morning I would get up hint something down then I was on my way. I have never really settled anywhere for more than a week.

The grass beneath my paws was oddly satisfying. I had been walking through gravel for the past few days, so believe me when I say that I was relieved, well almost.
It was not long past 1 am when I can across it, a Viscet egg. Gently I scooped it up between my paws. From the area that I was standing, there was no sign of life besides me, the egg, and the grass. I sighed,” Why does this thing always happen to me.” I set the egg on the ground and started to roll.

It was approximately 3 am the next day. The sun was too bright for me I couldn’t keep up. Yes, I was still walking through fields while rolling an egg. I was relieved though when we came up to a forest. There wasn’t much there but I did find a pond. “Ah, about time.” The pond was pure water, glistening, and clear. I stopped at the edge to get a long drink of water.
“Hello, can I help you?” Shocked by the sound of a voice I turned around.
“Hi, I’m Juno. Do you know anyone who might have lost an egg?”
“Well Where was it found?”
“About a day away from here.” The questioner did not look shocked, instead it looked like she was used to this kind of stuff. “Ya, probably belong to one of us.”
“Us?”
“Yes, a whole community of travelers. We stay here together, in peace.” Where do they live? I turned my head to look for some sort of den.
“Oh no you have the wrong idea. You see we live underground. This place is notorious for its wild fires, everyday there is at least one. But it is magical.”
“How is it magical, it burns down...wait then what about the trees?”
“That’s the magical part, they always grow back with plenty of food within an hour. Here let me show you our home.” It was certainly a home. Creatures of all sorts gathered, the spoke one multiple languages by the looks of it. They were in piece. “Here come this way.” The Viscet spoke and signaled for him to follow. “You see down here we forbid having children, so everyone somebody will find a newborn, egg, etc. near or around our home. Mostly the general and his army. They watch over this place and control our population, we have lived here for generations so of course we convinced them to let us stay. Which is why when you came here we were delighted. Now come, set down the egg here, in our secret hatchery. The army has no idea it exists.”

That night I was curled up in a nest, the leader invited me to stay the night. From under the ground though I smelt something. Smoke! I ran up to the entrance to the city and climbed out. “Psst! What are you doing?” A voice from below him shouted.
“There is a fire in the fortress!” Somebody else yelled.
“Run!” Quickly I jumped back down to help the others. I assisted them all out of the kingdom and into the forest, luckily there wasn’t a fire from above.

Everyone in the underground village, along with there eggs where safely evacuated. However, some part of me needed to stay. “What are you doing?! You will surely die if you go back!”
“I can stop myself, sorry.” I walked up to the fire, the warmth against my dirty fur felt so good. I had to get closer.
“Hello ,Juno.” A strange and somewhat deadly voice came from inside the fire. “I have waited for you to arrive here, finally we can meet.”
“Who are you?” I asked scared and curiously.
“I am your father.” The room went silent for a moment then I started breaking out into laugher.
“As much as we all loved that movie this is the wrong time.” The Fire then spike again.
“I can explain everything.”

A few moments of talking past and I was confused. Somehow I understood though and went up to the surface. It looked like the whole community had completely left the area because there was a fire up there now to. “Damn, I am very glad that I don’t live here.”
“Well that settles it.” I turned around and it looked like the army that the leader described. “Don’t worry this won’t take long.” Some sort of dart hit me and I was out.
(781 words)
Oliver-runs for charity

I tend to not be the smartest person around but I do love to run. As most people say “I am very athletic” so It is no surprise that I would do something like running for charity. All my life I was an orphan, abandoned by my parents and left to die. So I grew up on my own, alone. This run though could many others like me, orphans. I was desperate to run.
“On your marks, get set, go!” The gun shot and we were off.
(87 words)
(1,381 words)