[Knickknacks]

username + link to partner’s entry: knickknacks + feverrr
fable name: merrow
prompt: [700 words]

The hardest things to get used to have been these: how small the house is, and how quiet it becomes at night.

In Silverhelm, there are forges and workshops burning at all hours. The mountains tower above, enveloping all the city’s noise, echoing with metalworking and hoof traffic. In this far-flung farmland it grows silent when the three moons rise, save for the creaking of branches and the faroff calls of sprite-creatures in the trees.

The walls of Merrow’s guest room are wooden, rather than hewn from stone, and the walls are laden with tapestries and diagrams and notes on the particularities of various crops. It is clear that his host used the place as glorified storage, before he showed up half dead on her doorstep.

Avalon has been patient, curious but not prying in a way that makes his hide itch more than the sticky summer heat does. She bids him good morning, makes enough food for two, and departs to her fields for the day while he convalesces. Better not to exert yourself too much, after traveling as far as you have, she says. That he is surely resting up for the next leg of his journey remains an unspoken understanding between them. Before the coup he was a renowned artisan, capable of the finest metalwork. Surely he will not stay in this farming village. He does not want to. They both know this. She has seen his lip curl as he takes in the smallness of his place. He has seen her brows crease at his distaste. Neither of them want him to stay.

Still- as his strength returns, coaxed back to health by Avalon’s cooking (and gifts from neighbors, curious about the stray she has taken in) and plentiful sleep (for all of his griping, all the roughness of the homespun quilts, he had sunk into sleep instantly that first night), Merrow finds himself restless. Not strong enough to travel, but unused to idleness. Growing twitchy, aching for something to do.

It starts small. One of Avalon’s rakes has bent out of shape, the metal tines warped by cracked earth. He finds a pair of pliers- half-rusted, inelegant, and so very different from the fine tools he is accustomed to- and works the bend out as best he can. It would be better with a forge, with proper equipment. Better if he were anywhere but here. But the slow yield of the metal brings a satisfaction he thought nothing in this place could.

─── ⊹.✦.⊹ ───

Avalon, of course, notices the change.

It comes slowly- Merrow begins to venture from his room more, returning her greetings with more than a scoff. She will return from a day in the fields to find that a room has been straightened, everything set to his meticulous specifications.

It is, initially, an annoyance- to have him so critical of her life and yet dependent on her, eager to leave when he is recovered and yet rearranging her home. It is not until he mends her rake that she realizes two things: that his mending is not born of spite, and that it may actually be useful.

She finds another tool, a rust-edged shovel, and asks if he might reshape it for her. When he says he would need a forge, she takes him to look for materials that they might use to start a makeshift one for him. Merrow scoffs at the rudimentary structure, but deigns to use it anyways, and returns with a finer shovel than she’s ever seen.

Her neighbors take notice, and bring Merrow their tools as well. He looks down his nose at them, but takes the odd jobs with a determined spark in his eye. She becomes used to his presence, shadowing her in the fields, frowning over her shoulder with less bite than before.

Merrow is long healed when Avalon asks him if he will be leaving soon. She has avoided the question, afraid of his answer, and now Merrow stills when she asks it. He stands quiet for a moment, then shakes his head and says:

“There’s still things that need doing here.”

It is not quite the whole truth, but Avalon smiles to hear it.

[Ucanthandleme]

username + link to partner’s entry: Ucanthandleme + eel.
fable name: Vincent
prompt: Art + 43 words

Vincent's study, once a place of cold research, now gained a lively flair, graffiti, bows and a pink dog bed for their summoned creature. It seems he has to get more serious with teaching Nora, if another necromancer saw this they'd probably cry.

[BouncyBrain]

username + link to partner’s entry: BouncyBrain and coolrat
fable name: Minax
prompt: (700 words + 1 art max.)

[kyeza]

username + link to partner’s entry: kyeza & literal.swag.
fable name: taryn | "the stygian puppeteer"
prompt: the puppet and the puppeteer !!

[BlueEyedKite]

username + link to partner’s entry: BlueEyedKite & ant-arctic
fable name: Sgàth (skaa)
prompt: word count: 695
>> of Wings and the Way through Darkness << - this story is credited to myself and ant-arctic

[certified]

username + link to partner’s entry: certified + honeybunchesofoats
fable name:
Hoax
prompt:
Just a tapestry. (;

[Alantica]

username + link to partner’s entry: Alantica + Tigressa
fable name: ??? (Goes by James currently)
prompt: [700 words]

Playlist

Our eyes met each other for a single moment as you walked in. Sparks flew immediately and that was when I made the best and worst decision of my life.

Life wasn’t easy. I had to do what I needed to survive. I got my hands dirty. And this time, I was at a town right outside the hubbub of the big city next door. The city news reports of international conflicts but that never reached this sleepy little town. I became the assistant to the corrupt mayor knowing that my suspicious activity would just be credited to him instead. I would gather sensitive information for him and keep a copy myself in case anything could be used to take down the big shots in the city. I had a day off and decided to grab some food from the local diner. It was then when I met you.

A case ripped right out of my hands. I was so close, yet they told me to stop looking into it. I fought hard to grab justice for the family who has just lost a father. Instead, they told me I was obstructing work and sent me to this quiet little town. I needed a big break to show I was capable but how would I do so here? The murmurs about the mayor caught my attention one day. “His attendant is always doing something weird for him.” they said. I knew it was going to be my big break and it‘s going to change my life. While taking a short break, I decided to grab some coffee at the local diner. It was then when I met you.

We knew the moment our eyes met that our life would be intertwined.

I took my coffee and slid next to you, my heart beating faster than ever. We introduced ourselves and to my surprise this unassuming person was the mayor's assistant. Logic told me to stop but my heart couldn’t. We chatted and laughed for what felt like a brief moment but hours passed and the diner kicked us out. I knew then it was too late for my heart.

══════════════════ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══════════════════

Our blissful days were too short. I knew it was going to hurt us yet I still did it. I thought you were just an unknowing victim in this case. The day everything went public, I came back to an empty home. All your little touches were gone, like you were never here, except for a note typed out with just a short phrase of “Sorry, I love you.”... My heart shattered into a million pieces. I never was able to put it back together. I got my position back in the city but at what cost? If I knew.. If I just knew…

I knew this day was coming. I watched as you tirelessly worked on this case at every free moment. When you excitedly took this evidence to the news station, it was my cue to leave. I had finished my task ages ago and you were the only reason I stayed. With this news breaking, there would be too many eyes on me. I methodically cleaned up everything I could and fled, leaving a single note I knew wouldn’t suffice but was all I could do.

Years pass by.
Sometimes I see someone like you but it’s never you. I
think it’s time for me to move forward. I have been
throwing my everything into work and brought justice
to the family I once was forced to leave behind. I once
again see someone like you but I know in my heart
it’s not you.

Goodbye, my love.

It has been years.
I thought I had forgotten about you but I knew I hadn’t when
I saw you in the distance. You shone so bright, now the top
detective in your city. I wanted to run to you. Hug you. Tell
you I love you. But.. I can’t. I can’t put you in danger. I had
changed everything about me. The way I look, the way I
talk, the way I move. So we will just pass each other and
life will move on.

I’m sorry my love.

[ExVenor]

username + link to partner’s entry: ExVenor + leopia
fable name: Syrak
prompt: fullsize

[kaisisles]

username + link to partner’s entry: kaisisles & khvoxtic
fable name: cidney
prompt: both on #209's form

art by me, writing by khvoxtic