[elderling]

fable name: Wonder
answer:

The sun began to dip below the horizon, a gentle, quiet trajectory followed by only the darkening veil of the sky that begins to blanket over the Fables who serve as the stewards of Dawn and Dusk. Wonder takes a quiet yet deep pride in her station, watching over the sky as it transitions from day to night, and night to day. She begins her ritual, chasing the path of Dusk to Dawn.

Wind blew through the forest with the arrival of Dusk, the last birdsong of the day accompanying the mild caress of a breeze as it danced through tall blades of grass and wiry brush. The gentle step of hooves parted the flora with a reverent grace, light and careful enough to leave no lasting trace of their weekly pilgrimage behind. Raising her head high as the wind ruffled her mane, dark eyes full of the skies purple glow, Wonder began the welcoming ritual with a small smile she could not keep from her muzzle even if she wanted to.

Her sickle horn began to glow as the magic she was graced with starts to course throughout her being, eyes gently falling shut as the last bird finished their song and tucked into their warm nest to sleep. Wonder weaves a dream throughout her woods, soft and filling like honey-sweet milk, comforting like the nuzzle of a dam to her foal. A song weft to comfort the cold ones, to ease the darkness from those who sleep soundly. Legs standing firm on the mossy earth, the beginnings of quiet nightmares are swiftly diverted with a flick of her horn and shift of intention, a shiver crossing the Fables body as Wonder redirects the fearful energy into herself and gives it back to the rising moon.

The sleepsong starts to weave like fog through the trees, a gentle tell from the loving earth that Wonder's magic has done well to reach it's children under the gaze of the Dusk. It fills her silk-soft ears with a warmth that chases the nighttime chill from her fur, but like the summer's first crack lightning, it stops with a jolt. Quickly, hurriedly, it is replaced with a raging dissonance that grows louder and louder, 'fast, have to move, chase it away, go, get out of here, don't hurt me, hurt you first', thundering steps emerge from deep within the forest towards Wonder and her spell. She crushes her eyes tightly, legs bracing against the force of the creature's fear bleeding into her wide open channels and reaching towards her mind.

'No.' She shakes her head, mane hitting her neck heavily as she regains her bearings. Horn still carrying the soft glow from her dream weaving, she turns towards the creature's approach and bows down gently, head low but gaze level with the direction she feels the pounding of clawed paws running, moving, going, going, i'm bigger than you tougher than you stronger than the last thing that hurt me i will show you upon soft earth. The pain of the bear buffets into her with the force of thunder in the height of it's storm as it emerges from the dark, and she lets the tear that escapes down her downy cheek fall freely, some of the bear's pain captured in her tears returned to the earth.

Wonder stands still in the path of the charging bear. And under the glow of the full moon's grace, she begins her dance.

The Fable tilts her head to one side, horn glowing bright as she begins to weave a song of calm waters, the soothing warmth of basking in the sun, and the safety of mother curled around you as you rest. Her head falls to her opposite side, flowing back and forth as she lets the earth guide her movements. Easy like a salmon filled river, she slowly flows across the ground and towards the slowing bear, hesitation beginning to replace their fearful charge as the edges of her magic touch them. Weaving closer, cautious but determined, she opens her heart to the bear, intentions made clear over the channel the bear stumbled into.

I welcome you softly, chasing away your shadows. I give you faith in this earth, through dreams of easy days and full bellies in warm memories. I take your pain and return it to the Dusk. I love you, no matter what.

The bear having stopped fully, soft moss cushioning torn and tattered paws, sits down and drops their heavy head with a fatigue no one should carry alone. Wonder steps quietly up to the bear, the countless scars upon it's hide shining under the cold light of the moon. Face to face, she bows her head, and lets her golden horn glance upon the forehead of the bear. ...Resting. Warm. Tired.... tired so tired.... don't leave, watch, protect... please. The bear curls down to the soft earth, a lush patch of moss gently rising to meet the aching bones and tired head of the creature.

Wonder tucks down beside the bear, her real task beginning as the moon reaches it's peak in the sky. Head raised towards the brightness of the moon, she blinks slowly, completing a part of her ritual.
She nuzzles the bears forehead with a soft breath.
I will watch. As long as you need me to. Sweet dreams, my friend.

[SaltyBirb]

fable name: Santan
answer:

━━━━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━━━

Drips of water echoed within the rough, damp walls as the sound of footsteps grew louder. A beam of light could be seen as two wanderers, with a curious look on their faces, peered from the corner. 

“It seems like no one has entered this place yet,” the fable said to the other as she checked every inch of the cave for any signs of the living. 

“Then that means... We’ll be named the discoverers of this cave; it’ll be named after us! June and Santan! JunTan? Sanune?? Juan??? "Santan laughs as she watches the wide and excited grin plastered on her partner's face. happily galloped through the dingy cave, not a worry in the world. “There might be hidden treasures inside; let’s hurry!"

“Hey...HEY! June! Wait for me!!”Santan’s worried cries echo loudly as she rushes to June’s side.

They were only supposed to go on a hiking trip to let off steam from days of overtime work, but it seems that they got a bit sidetracked when an excited June found an uncharted cave near the hiking tracks.

Luckily the cave had small openings in its ceiling, so some light came through, making their exploration easier to see. "This trip is way too exciting to forget; I'll make a bracelet for us once this is over!" He showed and shook his arm filled with braided bracelets to Santan. "This one's when I visited Grandma, and this one's when I got stung by a bee; you should've seen my face! Oh! And this one's from..." Santan blissfully listened to June's ramblings; she was just happy to have him with her; he has always been the sunshine that lightens up the gloomy mood.

Before they could continue their chatter, a light metal clang was heard from afar; both the fables flinched from the sudden sound as they glanced towards the noise. Santan was worried about June, so she volunteered to check what made the sound.

"An...earring?" It seems like they weren't the first ones to be here. She grabbed the accessory and called for June, but no one replied. "Hey, June? Can you hear me?" nothing, only silence.

She was about to panic when a soft voice came from the dimly lit cave. "Hurry...Santan."

Santan was confused by the sudden change of June's usual cheery mood; did he get too scared by the sound from the earring? "It's too dark there, June! Come here; you might accidentally trip." Santan beckons the dark figure from the cave, but June doesn't move an inch.

"Hurry!... Over!!" "You want me to go over there?" Santan walks to the figure, worried that June might've gotten himself hurt when suddenly—a loud wet splat can be heard—she looked down to her hooves as a black substance inched towards her.



Her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness when she saw who she was talking to—an amalgamation of black ooze, sand, and rocks. "Santan...Santan!!" That thing shouted, slurring its words and still trying its best to mimic June, whether it was his voice or his features. The mimicry was imperfect, but that only made things worse since it made itself look uncanny, freaking out Santan even more.

She freezes in fear; the pounding of her heart echoes in her eardrums, and anxious thoughts rush through her head. "June, where's June?! What's that? Did "it" hurt June?! I need to run, QUICKLY!"

Her eyes desperately searches for an escape when she noticed a familiar item on the ground, one of June's bracelets, resting at an entrance that goes deeper into the cave. There were no bracelets near the slimy figure, which only meant that he didn't suffer an untimely fate with this creature. He was probably lost somewhere but hopefully safe, which was reassuring enough for Santan, who sighed in relief.

She slowly calmed down and boldly stared at the creature. She observed how the slimy limbs couldn't reach her; no wonder it tried to lure her by mimicking June. With no idea of defeating this "thing," she chooses to find June first before they can quickly get out of this place.

She carefully stepped back and rushed to the other side, where she found June's bracelet. She looked back at the wriggling creature, making sure it couldn't move from its spot, then vanished deeper into the cave in the hope of finding her friend, her sunshine.

━━━━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━━━

[SilkenDragon]

fable name: Prochloros
Answer:
There was a fable named Prochloros with neither wing nor horn. They were the child of ocean wave and setting sun, belonging to neither sky nor earth. They could pass no further than the strip of coast where all sea, sky, and land met. Still, from that meager space, they peered into all the distant worlds they could not reach with fascinated wonder. Prochloros had many siblings who churned the waters of the sea, not all of which were fable in form, and not all of which were quite as content as they to simply watch the forest trees. As such, few creatures dared come close, and Prochloros's curiosity at what lay beyond their sandy beach could not be quelled.

One day, a sea beast came up from the depths and spoke to them, "Fellow child of the sea, I see your yearning for the lands beyond and I cannot stand to leave you be. I know of a way for you to journey forth, but I must ask you for three things.”

Prochloros was quite eager, and easily agreed, so the sea beast said, “First, bring me something of a beast that roams both earth and tide.”

Prochloros set off and tirelessly searched up and down every coast, until, on the hundredth day of searching, they found an unicorn, limping through the surf and bleeding quite heavily. Prochloros looked down the coast and saw dust kicked into the air; heard the clank of metal and the cries of men. Prochloros looked up the coast, and spied a gentle maiden waiting, golden noose in hand.

Prochloros came to the shore and called out to the unicorn, “There is an army chasing you far behind, and a trap lying in your path ahead.”

“There is,” said the unicorn helplessly. “But what can I do, even if I know? There is nowhere for me to go.”

“I will help you,” said Prochloros. Though Prochloros did not have the ability to turn back that maiden, much less an army, neither could match Prochloros in the sea. Prochloros took the unicorn upon their back, then leapt back into the waves and carried it away. When they returned to land, the unicorn said, "Thank you for your aid. If there is anything I can do to repay you, speak.”

“I only ask for something of yours,” said Prochloros.

“I possess nothing but my horn, so that will be yours,” said the unicorn, and they spun to strike the ground, breaking a curved fragment free. "Take this; it will banish all evils and light your way." Prochloros took the fragment and at once, a gilded crescent sprouted from their brow. Then they returned to the sea beast and showed it the unicorn’s gift.

“Only a sliver?” The sea beast was disdainful, but continued, “It will have to do. Then, through it, I give you a bridge to walk on land.”

Suddenly, Prochloros felt a pressure release, and with great surprise, they stumbled forth and left the sea. The sea beast then said, “Your second task, now, is to bring me something of a beast that roams both earth and sky.”

Prochloros set off once more, tirelessly searching the earth high and low, until, on the hundredth day of searching, they found a pegasus knelt in muddy snow and bound with silver rope. Prochloros looked behind, and found a hunting party coming close. Prochloros looked ahead, and saw the sky darken from day to night.

Prochloros came to the edge of the wood and called out to the pegasus, “Behind you, there are hunters approaching, and ahead of you, the coming night.”

“I know,” lamented the pegasus, “but I do not have a way to light the sky, and as I am, I cannot not fly.”

“I will help you,” said Prochloros. And though the sea was not near, Prochloros had a unicorn’s horn, and through silver thread it soon did shear. Prochloros urged the pegasus up, and with a glowing horn to light their way, they led the charge through darkened glades. When they lost the hunters and it turned to day, the pegasus said, “You have changed my fate. Any task you give to me, I shall do with haste.”

“I only wish to ask for something of yours,” said Prochloros.

“I bear nothing but the feathers on my back, so that is what you shall have,” said the pegasus, and they shook two plumes free. “Take these; they will carry you through trouble and make it so even the wind could not catch you.” Prochloros took the feathers, and a pair of wings the color of evening sky sprouted from their back. Then they returned to the sea beast, and showed it the pegasus’s gift.

“Only two feathers?” the sea beast scoffed, but took them still. “It will have to do. Then, through them, I give you gift of flight.”

Suddenly, Prochloros felt a weight lift off; they rushed forth and cleared a mountain with a single hop.

"Child of the sea, I have granted you the land to walk and the sky to fly, and now comes my final task,” said the sea beast.

“I give my thanks to you, for making to so there is nowhere in the world that I cannot see. I will do my best to fulfill what you request of me,” Prochloros replied.

“Bring me a beast that roams all land, sky, and sea," the sea beast said.

But Prochloros did not go, horn gleaming with sharp light, and asked, "Would that description not fit I?"

"It does," the sea beast agreed. "But I had hoped you would have turned to leave, as it would have made this much easier for me."

Prochloros did not have to ask what the sea beast meant, for then the sea beast leapt forth, jaws agape with malicious intent. The sea beast was as quick as rushing waves, and any ordinary fable would have quickly met their fate. But Prochloros had a pegasus's wings, and wove through gnashing teeth with barely a delay. The sea beast had a steely hide, and no ordinary fable could hope to even mark their form. But Prochloros had a unicorn's horn, and cleaved the sea beast's armor with the strength of storms. The sea beast could not withstand Prochloros's blows, nor could it escape the speed of their flight, and though it took the rest of both day and night, the sea beast was felled by morning's light.

(zips in. finished this just in time for the deadline. tried to write this in the style of a fairy tale. lol at me writing a thousand words and having the actual fight only take up a paragraph...)

[bezel]

so hard to choose 😰

but after some thinking i would like the winner to be messmer
the story showed me a good sense of wonder's character and how she interacts with the world and the bear, and i thought the setting and the descriptions of her magic were interesting, especially how the fight is within their minds.

i also want to give a Ticket to
kyeza, lumilys, molotov, Northstar., SaltyBirb, SilkenDragon

info on tickets on the front page. you can use this now by posting the form on the nursery, or save them up. there is also the option to make an artist search entry real.

thank you to everyone else for entering, i enjoyed reading the variety of stories and seeing the art and i wish i could award all.

[lumilys]

big congrats to messmer and thank you so much for the ticket! all the responses to this prompt were so interesting! C:

[molotov]

congratulations to messmer for the big win!! all these entires have been incredible, both in art and storytelling. thank you for the ticket, i really appreciate it!!

[elderling]

ahhhh I could cry omg!! 😭😭😭 thank you so so much, and congrats to the ticket winners!!!!!

[SilkenDragon]

mmm ticket :3 congrats, messmer! i went and read the other entries and dang i can see why it was hard to choose, very good stuff