Monthly Writing Contest - Winners Announced!

Share any written short stories, novels, or poetry

Moderator: Tea House Moderators

Post Reply
LightningRip
CreaturesTrade
Posts: 302
Joined: November 23rd, 2010, 2:48:01 am
Gender: Female

Monthly Writing Contest - Winners Announced!

Post by LightningRip »

Image
Ok. SO. I love writing, and I love the awesome works and stories I can find here in the Tea House. In this thread, I will hold monthly writing contests. You will be given a theme/prompt to base a story on. Prizes will be given from 1st - 3rd place, as well as several other prizes. I have checked, and the only other “monthly writing contest” that popped up has not been posted in since September 2010.

Image

So, on to the rules.

1. Be respectful. No being mean or saying things like “___’s story sucks.” That is disrespectful, and will get you disqualified. The point of this is for people to have fun, and if they’re not doing that then there’s no point in doing this thing.
2. Judges cannot enter the contest, for the sake of keeping fair.
3. You may only enter one story per month.
4. No spamming.
5. Post your stories here.
6. Don’t steal someone else’s work and claim it as your own. This will get you disqualified, as well as banned from future contests.
7. Please use proper grammar! It’s alright if there are one or two mistakes, but don’t submit something you know has a lot of grammar mistakes. Also, stories using chatspeak such as “lol,” “ttyl,” and things like that, will NOT be accepted. I’m sorry, but let’s leave chat words to chats.
8. Follow the rules, and don’t make me add more.
9. Minimum of 2,000 words in your story, but you can go as high as 10,000 words(if you want to). So these are pretty well short stories, but we may hold contests in the future with a bigger word limit if there are people that would like to write that much.
10. Secret smiley - :t-ninja:
11. Keep it PG-13. If you wouldn't let a grandparent read it, don't enter it.
12. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

Image


I am also looking for people to judge. 2 Judges will be picked to judge with me, but I’m accepting applications for the next few days. Judges will be tested before 2 are picked. However, if you don’t want to judge, but want to pitch in, you can always donate creatures/gold. Anyone who could donate donation creatures for prizes would be loved forever, but anyone else who can donate creatures and/or gold is GREATLY appreciated.

If you’d like to donate, send me a trade with the things being donated, and a PM with a note saying that you did. If you’d like to be a judge, post the following here:

Code: Select all

Username: 
Why you think you’d be a good judge/prior experience?:
Example of your writing(a link or links):
Why do you WANT to be a judge?:
Secret Smiley(found in this post):


Image

Contests will be started on the 1st of every month, but we WILL have a short contest for August.

August’s theme is:
Allies - this month is a tribute to the MS mermaids, nagas, and centaurs. This month is strictly short stories, but we may hold other events in the future such as poems. You may involve other creatures and magi, etc, but it MUST be centered around at least one of the three allies and fit into the MS world. Other than that, you are free to do whatever, AS LONG as you follow the rules, the prompt, and don’t go against the MS lore. So - get going, start a war, solve one, find the mermaids a new home, or something else entirely. Any style such as 1st person or 3rd is accepted, as long as, again, it follows the rules and everything.

Image


The divider bars are from a freebie set made by Hanako. :) Thanks for looking, and I hope to see some awesome stories! I’ll reserve a few posts below for other info, etc. Good luck everyone![/color]Image
Last edited by LightningRip on October 23rd, 2011, 12:02:48 am, edited 15 times in total.
LightningRip
CreaturesTrade
Posts: 302
Joined: November 23rd, 2010, 2:48:01 am
Gender: Female

Re: Monthly Writing Contest - August Contest Theme Up!

Post by LightningRip »

Image
Prizes

Prizes will be awarded to the following - Current contest prizes(when all gathered together) will be beside the award name. I am currently getting them now, so that people will know what they could win.
1st Overall -
2nd Overall -
3rd Overall - Image
Best 1st Person POV - Image
Best 3rd Person POV - Image
3 honorable mentions - Image - Image - Image
1 Random prize will be drawn for and given to a random competitor - you are automatically entered for this random prize when you enter your story. - August's Random Prize - Image

The creatures will be added here as they are gathered together. As I am currently the only one getting creatures and gold for prizes, they will most likely be shop or stream born creatures and maybe a little bit of gold. If I can find a way to get donation pets for prizes, then I will.

Image
Last edited by LightningRip on August 26th, 2011, 4:20:21 pm, edited 11 times in total.
LightningRip
CreaturesTrade
Posts: 302
Joined: November 23rd, 2010, 2:48:01 am
Gender: Female

Re: Monthly Writing Contest - August Contest Theme Up!

Post by LightningRip »

Image
Staff

Donors(who donate regularly - if you wish to become a regular donor, just say so or PM me. Otherwise if you'd like to donate just a creature or two, see above. :wave: )
Currently none.

Judges
LightningRip(me)
~other Judges are being decided upon currently. Judge applications accepted until midnight on the 20th.~

Image
Last edited by LightningRip on August 14th, 2011, 2:17:01 am, edited 5 times in total.
LightningRip
CreaturesTrade
Posts: 302
Joined: November 23rd, 2010, 2:48:01 am
Gender: Female

Re: Monthly Writing Contest - August Contest Theme Up!

Post by LightningRip »

-Reserved(done now XD)-
User avatar
Hawk
CreaturesTrade
Posts: 293
Joined: August 13th, 2009, 4:30:52 pm
Gender: Male
Location: If you change your mind, you know where to find me
Contact:

Re: Monthly Writing Contest - August Contest Theme Up!

Post by Hawk »

(I don't know if you want me to post this here, but here's the form.)


Username: Hawkclaw
Why you think you’d be a good judge/prior experience?: I read a lot, including very mature material like Charles Dickens, but I love to read anything. I'm also a Grammar Nazi, and tend to notice plot inconsistencies easily, but tend to bring them to the author's mind kindly, as I don't like to be in people's faces.
Example of your writing(a link or links): Not Updated Anymore
No Longer Updated, But Has a One Chapter Example
Why do you WANT to be a judge?: I like to read literature and be able to think about how it could be made better and in turn help others to be better writers, while making myself better as well.
Secret Smiley(found in this post): :t-ninja:
I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk.
Run and live! That is an idea I can get behind!
You're not just granting hope. You're becoming hope itself!
Uh, hello. Amon, sir. I think there's been a big misunderstanding.
jeez, why does everyone always die so much?
Our God is an awesome God. Much better than that ridiculous god that Desert Bluffs has.
LightningRip
CreaturesTrade
Posts: 302
Joined: November 23rd, 2010, 2:48:01 am
Gender: Female

Re: Monthly Writing Contest - August Contest Theme Up!

Post by LightningRip »

Awesome, thanks Hawkclaw! I'll PM you shortly. :) If anyone has any questions/suggestions or anything, please feel free to fire away. You can also suggest possible themes for in the future if you'd like to. :)
User avatar
Hawk
CreaturesTrade
Posts: 293
Joined: August 13th, 2009, 4:30:52 pm
Gender: Male
Location: If you change your mind, you know where to find me
Contact:

Re: Monthly Writing Contest - August Contest Theme Up!

Post by Hawk »

I was wondering, will it be you and two other people acting as the judges? And will those be the judges every month?
I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk.
Run and live! That is an idea I can get behind!
You're not just granting hope. You're becoming hope itself!
Uh, hello. Amon, sir. I think there's been a big misunderstanding.
jeez, why does everyone always die so much?
Our God is an awesome God. Much better than that ridiculous god that Desert Bluffs has.
User avatar
crazyflight
MagiStream Donor
Member of Society of the Trident Member of Artificer's Association Member of Preservationists Association An icon depicting the element Air
CreaturesTrade
Posts: 17596
Joined: October 25th, 2009, 8:22:05 am
Gender: Male

Re: Monthly Writing Contest - August Contest Theme Up!

Post by crazyflight »

Hawkclaw wrote:I was wondering, will it be you and two other people acting as the judges? And will those be the judges every month?
I was wondering the same thing, because I may want to be a judge in the future.
ImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImage
always looking to buy streamborn opal and diamond gemstone kirin!
also happy to buy water shop creatures for shop price + 100g for whomever wants!
<3 <3 <3
User avatar
Hawk
CreaturesTrade
Posts: 293
Joined: August 13th, 2009, 4:30:52 pm
Gender: Male
Location: If you change your mind, you know where to find me
Contact:

Re: Monthly Writing Contest - August Contest Theme Up!

Post by Hawk »

Hi Crazyflight! Nice to meet you! ^_^ Do you like to write?
I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk.
Run and live! That is an idea I can get behind!
You're not just granting hope. You're becoming hope itself!
Uh, hello. Amon, sir. I think there's been a big misunderstanding.
jeez, why does everyone always die so much?
Our God is an awesome God. Much better than that ridiculous god that Desert Bluffs has.
User avatar
crazyflight
MagiStream Donor
Member of Society of the Trident Member of Artificer's Association Member of Preservationists Association An icon depicting the element Air
CreaturesTrade
Posts: 17596
Joined: October 25th, 2009, 8:22:05 am
Gender: Male

Re: Monthly Writing Contest - August Contest Theme Up!

Post by crazyflight »

Oh, I love to write. Here I will start this story on the Mermaid Ally (BEWARE, shall be edited many times).
Spoiler
The Difference Between Love and Trust

The sun shone down upon the water, changing it's azure hue to one of crimson and pink. The islands darkened under this change in light as I watched. The Callisto Islands, of course. My home.

I haven't really introduced myself! I'm sorry, my name is Yllianna. I am a mermaid of the Callisto Islands. If you don't know what a mermaid is, I am a fish-human hybrid. Some of us eat humans, and some of us are friendly towards them. We are all female, reproducing with humans and devouring them after. You could say it's brutal, but no one can find out our secrets.

Daily life down in the sea is great. My mother, Anastella, is very kind to me and my sister, Nyxxia. We roam around the deep sea bottom, where there are places much like the human world. There are merchants where we sell sea creatures. The latest craze has been something called an Abaia. It's kind of like an eel, and they make very nice pets. I have one named Zhontak. He's really friendly. He's my only pet, and my best friend.

We mermaids are very lucky. With interchangeable lungs and gills, we can survive on land and water. Though I have to admit, I am much more graceful in the water than I am on land. I use big rocks for sunbathing. I also visit the beaches sometimes. That is where I met Anthyvus.

You may ask how I know so much about humans. Well, you could say I have a boyfriend, kind of. We flirt a lot, and we love each other. Kind of like Vasial and his friend, but we are a little less crazy about each other. Of course, that doesn't go to say that we don't love each other a lot, they are just the limit. We talk a lot about our life and things like that. We are both only seventeen, and it is only just small things. Although it wouldn't be that bad if we went further, would it?

Oh, but it would. There is a strict policy around that regard. Truly loving a human becomes instant death. You know why? We may mate. Of course, that always happens. But what if I get too attached to him? He would have to be killed afterward! I would not be able to stand that. But I can't leave it. These kind of decisions tear you apart, you know?

So this is very private. I haven't even told Anastella or Nyxxia, that's how serious. I tell them everything. Well, now almost everything. The only ones who know are me, Anthyvus, and Zhontak. But the Abaia doesn't really count. He just absorbs what I say into him. He's so sweet, he knows when to comfort me and exactly when to listen. Or pretend he's listening.

Well, that's enough about me. I hope that tomorrow will bring good things to our relationship. I always hope that. The sun is down, and everyone is asleep. It's time for to me to go to sleep as well. Good night!

****************************************************************************************

The next morning, I woke up to the gentle chirruping of Zhontak. I'm glad I frozen him while I could; he would have been very loud and big if I hadn't. The sunrise shone through the small window of my room. I swam out, my tail fin moving side to side, propelling me forward. It feels good when I don't use my hands. I'm proud of how well I can swim.

"Come in for breakfast, darling!" My mother called me in. "Coming," I mumbled loud enough for her to hear. Mermaid homes aren't very big. We usually don't eat here, mostly just morning meals. A mermaid's day is spent either in the Merchant or in the open water, doing various things.

There is so much to do, here where I live. You can swim competitively or just swim for leisure. We have fishing contests, but we don't always catch fish. Sometimes we can find Kaerans above water, maybe the Platypus who decided to go for a swim, or the various species of Koi, including Goldfish. Sometimes we try to find good pets instead of buying them. I found Zhontak, but that's a different story for a different time.

I gulped down my breakfast of sun-baked Koi fish and a fresh pineapple from the shore. "Thanks mom!" I gratefully yelled as I hurried out the door. I heard Anastella say, "Be careful, wherever you're going today!" Of course you can tell what I'm doing today. But she can't.

"Where are you going?" I heard a voice behind me curiously inquire. "Erm, just to the hunting grounds," I murmured. That was Nyxxia, my older sister. I love her, and we often fool around together, since she is only 10 months older than me. She's my half-sister, but of course, that is usually the case.

"Really? Is that where you've been going since a couple of weeks ago? The hunting grounds?" No, of course I wasn't! I was going to the beach to meet Anthyvus. But how could I tell her that I was secretly meeting a human? "No, not all the time. I have been in the Merchant a couple of times." This was not a lie. I actually had been to the Merchant, trying to find Zhontak a friend. I hadn't been successful finding a good deal.

Nyxxia stopped nagging me. "Okay, fine. I'm going to swim with my friends." I hate to admit it, but she is a better swimmer than I am. I shrugged. "Have fun!" I dismissively shouted over my shoulder as I swam off in the direction of the hunting grounds. Although I would just switch once I got to the Reef, so no one could see me.

Everything was a blur as I raced by. The other mermaids chatting, some fish and other animals, and finally, the Reef. This massive coral structure had been here before we had inhabited this area, and although Magi destroyed some parts of it with their boats, it was still beautiful. It was home to fish so colorful and of so much variety that it was breathtaking. I watched as a Leviathan chased a Hippocampus right next to me. Two Dragon Turtles appeared to speak with each other. I gasped as an Adremeri casually swam by, one of the rarest sea creatures you could find. But at the Reef, anything could happen.

I swam by, taking in all of the colors and creatures I saw. I realized that to all these other species, I was a totally different creature as well. I took my time until I had swam almost around the Reef. Then, I swam in the opposite direction of the Reef. This was the closest and most secret way to reach the shore of the Callisto Island of Byldrak. This was where Anthyvus was waiting.

With long, jet-black hair that reached his waist and a height of 6'0, he was perfect. I loved his ice-blue eyes, his suntanned skin, his muscular complexion; everything about him was lovely. "Good morning," He started politely. "How have you been?" I blushed. I loved the way he talked too, like he had an air of authority around him. "I was stopped by my sister. I had to tell her I was hunting. But I saw an Adremeri on the way here! It was breathtaking."

He gasped as well. His father was a donator to the Keep, and knew that Adremeri were very rare. "I would tell my father about this, but I would like to leave it in it's natural habitat," he murmured thoughtfully. I nodded. "Yes, that would be nice." I hesitated to say what I wanted to say. "You know... You know that we aren't supposed to be together, right?"

He nodded gloomily. "Yes, my father says that if I see a Mermaid, I must stay away from it. You eat humans." He paused. "Is this true?" I nodded, but you could barely see it. "Yes," I said softly and sadly. "We do. Only because we have secrets that must be kept from humans. There are no compromises." We both knew what we wanted to say. What if we want to mate? Which I'm sure we both want. But the question... Well, we both know the answer.

"There must be some way," we both said in unison. Silence eerily found it's way between us. But I cut it with my laughter. He laughed as well. I was glad that it wasn't awkward. "But seriously," he mumbled. "I can't go on without you." I loved when he said things like that! "I can't either. I have to do something." Anthyvus nodded. "We have to do it in secret, though. Still no one can know. We can't risk anything.

I nodded. He was too right. "I will try to figure things out when I go back," I assured him. "Trust me, no one will know." I started to leave, but he pulled me closer to him and kissed me hard. In the mouth. I staggered off of the rock and fell into the water with a splash. My head came back up reassuringly. "I love you," I called out to him passionately. "I love you too," I heard in the distance.

My head reeled with the impact of that kiss. He was worried about our relationship. I loved him too much to bear to be without him! There must be a way, there must! I swam back to the Reef. I saw the Adremeri again. This time, it swam over to me. It must have smelled the Synaran dried grapes that Anthyvus had given me. I carry those everywhere as a snack in a large pouch. I know that Adremeri love no treat more than some dried grapes.

I threw some towards him. "Here you go!" It immediately caught them before I could say "you go!" I was astonished. I fed it some more, and it got them as well. I the cautiously held out my hand, with some dried grapes in it. The Adremeri cocked its head thoughtfully, and then it swam over to me. It was only one foot away from me when it lashed out, got the grapes, and retreated. I sighed. That was bound to happen. Oh well. "I'll try again with you!" I called back to it. I swam away.

I went to the hunting grounds. I couldn't lie to my sister. As I approached the grounds, I was stopped by Nyxxia. Oh no, this couldn't be worse. "Where. Were. You." She demanded. It wasn't even a question. " I looked for you here, and no one had seen you! You lied to me. And what's that smell?" I stiffened up. She can't have smelled the human on me! "You mean these dried grapes?" I asked slowly. I popped a few in my mouth. "I saw an Adremeri by the Reef. That's where I went. It was amazing, and gorgeous. They love dried grapes. It was awesome."

My sister relaxed, and so did I. "Wow, that's so cool! I've seen one once too, when I was hunting. How close did it get?" I was relieved, and kind of complacent as my subject-changing skills. "It snatched some right out of my hand!" I bragged. She gasped. "Wow! You'd better tell Anastella, she'd be amazed. Here, let's go back. We can get some money and go to the Merchant District. We have to buy Zhontak a friend!" I smiled. "What a great idea!" I hugged my sister.

We swam back home. It wasn't very far from the hunting grounds. "Hi mom!" We both said as we swam through the door. Our mother was feeding Zhontak. "Oh, hello there girls! What did you do today?" Nyxxia answered for me before I could open my mouth. "Yllianna saw an Adremeri!" Our mom was stunned. "Seriously? Tell me about it!" My mother is an animal specialist, and she knows a lot about sea animals.

I started. "So, I was eating dried grapes when I saw an Adremeri. I know that they like dried grapes, you once told me that, so I decided to give it some. I threw them, and it got them. I threw some more, and it seemed to appreciate it. So then, I held out my hand with some. And then, in one split second, it swiftly snatched the grapes out of my hand and swam away!" I finished. My mom was stunned even more than my sister.

"They don't usually like to even come close to us! Dried grapes really must do the trick. Where did you get those?" I had to come up with a lie, quick. "Well, I found it by the Reef yesterday. It was in this pouch. I guess a human must have dropped them." That seemed pretty convincing. Anastella didn't inquire any further. "So, why did you come back? Surely not just to tell me about this." Does she know us.

"We need money! We want to find Z--H-O-N-T-A-K an M-A-T-E." Luckily, the Abaia can't spell. He wasn't listening anyways, to busy chewing his food. "Alright, girls. Make sure it is a hatchling about his size!" She gave us 50,000 gold. "Have fun! Buy anything else, if you have anything left over."

Let me explain the gold system to you. Anthyvus said that their gold system was based on value of certain creatures. Apparently, Abaia are expensive where he is, about 100,000 gold. That is a lot here! Adremeri, if we were allowed to hunt them, which we aren't, would probably be about 500,000 gold. He said that it was about the same there. I'm confused by it. But here, an Abaia hatchling would probably only be 30,000 gold. I tried to get one at 25,000 gold, because I want to spend the least amount of gold as possible.

"Thanks mom!" We acknowledged her as we left. We swam off to the direction of the Merchant. We could already hear the bustling sounds of gold jingling and vendors yelling their prices. It was orderly chaos, if I can put it that way. And I loved every bit of it.

"Abaia! Abaia! 27k a pop!" We immediately rushed over to the vendor who made that offer. "Abaia? We'll take one," I offered. "Here, take a look at my selection," she said proudly. All adults. "Oh, sorry, we were only looking for hatchlings," Nyxxia said politely. The vendor patted us on the shoulder. "That's okay. Good luck!" See? They were very nice here.

We swam around, bumping into the occasional person. We knew the shouting rule; you can only have people notice you once by yelling your offer. Otherwise, people have to notice you themselves. But that was alright. Business was usually very good. We saw a large sign, saying in clay-red letters; "Abaia Frozen Hatchlings!" We immediately sped to that direction.

An old mermaid sat in a chair. She looked sad, as if everyone had been ignoring her. "Um, excuse me? We would like an Abaia frozen hatchling," I said. Her eyes immediately lightened up. "Oh, thank you so much!" She rasped gratefully. "Now, what gender would you like, my dears? Male or female?" I looked at the three hatchlings. One was male, and two were female.

"We would like a female, please," I requested. Then, Nyxxia spoke. "If we can, may we have the smaller one? It is a partner for our male, and we want them to be the same size, just about." I looked at her, my eyes saying Good idea! "Of course you can, my dears. Thank you so much, I'm sure they will look forward to having a nice home. That will be 28k, please." 28,000 gold? That's a good price. I put out the appropriate amount, and added a small tip of 100 gold. "Thank you again!"

On the way back, I heard Nyxxia say "Awwwww! It's so cute!" I went over to look at what she saw. I shared her opinion in a heartbeat. It was an Ice Octopus, apparently just out of its egg. The price? Only 2,000 gold? "Can we get it," my sister pleaded to the vendor. "Please?" The lady laughed. "Of course you can. 2,000 gold, please!" I handed over the gold, and she gave us the Octopus. She handed us some free food for it as well. "Thank you so much," I answered for Nyxxia, who was busy cooing over it.

As I arrived home, the Abaia swimming behind us, the Octopus in Nyxxia's hands, and a bag full of a variety of Koi fish that I had bought for 1,000 gold, I gave Anastella the remaining gold. "I'm surprised you didn't spend all of it. Here." She gave us 9,500 gold each, adding 100 gold to mine for my tip. "You can use that later. Let's see what you've got!"

I dropped the large bag on the kitchen floor. The koi were all dead, of course, and fit to eat. "Oh, this was a great deal! Some Dragon Koi, some Red and White Koi, even a little Goldfish!" She laughed. "Too bad it's dead. We could have kept it." She shrugged. "Oh well. Have you got what you went for? I believe you did!" The Abaia hatchling had swam over to us. "What a great size, just a little smaller than Zhontak. They'll be best friends!" She looked at me. "What should we name her?"

I thought about that. There were so many beautiful names I could name her. "Something nice, like Zhontak. And not similar to that!" We all thought. Then, it hit me. Of course! "Xeria. That's her name." The Abaia hatchling swam around in a circle in her delight. Zhontak swam to her and checked her out. They started chasing each other!

We all laughed happily. "Do that outside!" My mother opened the door and they sped out. Even at hatchling stage, they were much faster than us. "And what else did you get?" Anastella looked at the little bundle of white octopus in Nyxxia's hands. "That is adorable. Cutest thing in the world. You'd better choose a good name for her." My mother had the talent of knowing instantly whether a creature was male or female.

Nyxxia frowned in thought. "Lynara... Lynara!" I clapped in approval. "Nice name. It seems to fit her perfectly!" We were all so gleeful that I had forgotten about Anthyvus. But of course, I could have some fun time to myself sometime, right?

I noticed that the water had darkened. "Is it sunset already?" I was amazed. The day seemed to have gone so quickly! I guess I had gotten up late. "Yes it is. I'm tired. That was a lot of swimming today." Nyxxia yawned. I stretched. "Okay then, I'd better go to sleep." I swam to my room and shut the door. Zhontak and Xeria came into my window. I opened the door for them to go wherever they wanted. "Good night, guys," I whispered.

I couldn't sleep. My dreams were plagued with nightmares of Anthyvus. And every time, I woke up. I shuddered in trepidation. Were they just bad dreams, or was I witnessing some foreshadowing? I sure hoped not. I had to be with him. No matter what.

****************************************************************************************

I yawned as the sunlight trickled through my open window. Sleep? Barely any of it. I tried to draw my kelp covers over me, but I was woken up by Anastella. "Yllianna? The Abaia need to go outside before they explode!" I laughed. I could imagine them being so full of energy that they would exhaust themselves.

I pulled myself out of bed and stretched my tail fin and my back. That felt good! I did slow strokes through the water and reached the kitchen, where the front door was as well. The ceiling isn't very high, only about 6 feet, but we usually aren't upright, so it doesn't matter. The hard sand and rock was very familiar around me, as were the wood and coral tables.

I opened the door and let out Zhontak and Xeria. They sure liked each other. Why couldn't it be as easy for me and Anthyvus? We could never be together. I shook my head, deep in thought. I closed the door and got a plate out from the kitchen cabinet.

Nyxxia yawned and gracefully swam to the table and had a seat. Anastella returned through the door with some fish. "Fresh hot fish!" she announced. We chose our pick. I got a vampire koi, the ones I like the most. Nyxxia took a regular koi, and our mother took one as well. We sat and chowed down.

"That hits the spot," my sister stretched. I giggled a little. "I'd better go down to get some exercise," I started. I went into my room and got my pouch of sun-dried grapes. There weren't that many left. Hopefully I could still see the Adremeri today.

"Bye!" I quickly exclaimed as I exited the house. I hastily swam towards the beach. I looked back and sighed in relief. No one had come to bother me today. I didn't bother to go to the Reef; I just went straight to the beach. It was early in the morning, and no one saw me.

"Yllianna!" I heard the familiar cry of delight as I saw the love of my life, and he noticed me. I gracefully landed on a large rock beside him. "Hello Anthyvus," I murmured. It still sent a pang of sadness through me when I saw him, when I thought of him... Pretty much all the time.

He looked into my eyes. "Everything's alright?" he asked, caressing my neck. I sighed. "Well, of course not! How can we be together?" He smiled. "I think I may have found a way. But it will take time." I brightened up. "Seriously? Tell me, tell me!"

He started. "Well, I was doing some research with my father. And he told me that Abaia could strengthen potions! So, I decided to work with him to make a potion that would allow me to breathe underwater. He thinks it is just because of my interest in water life.

"But of course, it's more! I want to be with you. And if I power the potion enough, I could stay underwater forever!" He grinned. I looked at him uneasily. "You'd do this? Leave your family, risk working so hard... Just for me?" I shook my head. "I don't know... I don't want this to happen. That may be bad for both of us... And that doesn't solve the problem of the other mermaids not accepting you!"

He looked into my eyes. "Would you be willing to do this? Would you leave your family? Come out. Live with me. Be with me. Forever. We can, you know we can. You have to trust me." He held out his hand. I stared at it in disbelief. And then, I jumped in the water and swam away. My head was swirling with emotions. I swam all the way back home, into my bed, and cried myself to sleep. It was still the afternoon.

****************************************************************************************

"Yllianna? Yllianna!" Uh-oh, that was Anastella. She would definitely give me the questioning. I couldn't run away from this one. I woke up and rubbed my eyes. What had just happened? Oh yeah. I had just rejected the love of my life. Now why I had I done that again?

I looked into my mirror. Good, it didn't look like I was crying. I had to think up an excuse, fast! I searched through my menagerie of alibis and found one. I got my pouch and crammed dried grapes into my mouth, until there weren't any left. Then, I got up and swam into the kitchen, where my mother was. "Yes, mother?" I sighed.

"What have you been doing!?" She hugged me tight. "Wha- What do you mean?" I asked her in confusion. "Nyxxia was looking for you, and she couldn't find you! Then, you were here this whole time?" I frowned. "I was just taking a nap, calm down!" I reassured her.

"Oh, don't you tell me to calm down! You could have told somebody, you could have been anywhere!" She fretted. "Chill, I'm fine!" I looked at her crazed eyes. "I'm fine. Nothing happened to me!" She sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry... Can you please fetch Nyxxia? She's been looking for you."

I nodded. "Okay!" I swam out through the front door. First, I went to the hunting grounds. "Have you seen my sister?" I asked the woman in authority there. She shook her head. I frowned. "Okay then." After that, I quickly hurried over to the swimming course. She was there!

"Yllianna!" She shouted. Then, she swam over to me and tackled me. "Where were you? Mother sent me everywhere, I feel like I can't move my fins any longer!" I laughed. "Relax, I was just in my room. Napping. No big deal!" She smiled. "I guess so. Come on, let's go back!" I waited for her as she slowly made her way back home.

"Alright girls, you must tell me where you are and what you are doing. Always. It is far too easy to get lost in this place." She looked at me. "Are you tired, dear?" She asked in concern. I shook my head. "Not really; the nap helped. I just need to clear my head." I heard a scratching at the door. Anastella sighed and let in the Abaia couple. "You hungry dearies? Here you go!" She tossed them some koi meat and they gobbled it down.

I reached down to stroke Zhontak's scales. He swam and leaned against my hip lovingly. I looked at his eyes. They were deep with feeling. I hoped that he wouldn't give anything away. "I want to go to the Merchant District. Hopefully someone has more dried grapes. I ate the whole pouchful!" I frowned. "Now I may not be able to see my Adremeri again..."

I swam out of the door. Mother knew where I was going; I couldn't back out. Oh well, I might as well do what I said I would. It makes sense, doesn't it? I went into the Merchant District with 10,000 gold in my satchel. I could probably buy something else. Maybe a new pet! I looked around eagerly. But none of the signs had any good deals for me.

At last, I arrived at the last row of stands. "Dried Synaran Grapes!" The sign read. Perfect! As I looked over at the stand, I saw a little girl crying. "What's wrong?" I asked her gently. "I'm hungry, and Momma isn't making enough money to get food!" She wailed. I gasped. "Does your mother run this stand?" I asked. The little girl whimpered and nodded. "Where is she? I'd like to buy some dried grapes."

The little girl's eyes brightened. "Really? I'll fetch Momma." She went into the back of the stand. "Momma! We have a cust- um, custy, er..." A tall, beautiful woman swept through the door. "Customer?" She laughed. The girl giggled. "Yeah, that!" They both came up to me. "How many grapes would you like, dear?"

I looked at them. They were very skinny. "How about if I make you a deal? You look very hungry. I'll trade you some food for some grapes," I offered. They nodded eagerly. "Deal!" She exclaimed. I swam over to the food aisle as quick as I could. The Merchant was arranged in rows; each row had a different section. Pets, food, miscellaneous, etc. The grapes were in miscellaneous.

I paid 5,000 gold for a big bag of koi fish, some platypus, and a big fatty narwhal, cut up into small pieces. A young girl, about my age, helped me carry them. We nodded in acknowledgment to each other as she left. "Thank you!" I called. "You're welcome," she replied over her shoulder.

The woman and her daughter widened their eyes at this. "How wonderful," she murmured. "Yay! Yay!" The little girl cheered and swam around in circles. "This is more than enough, I thank you very much." I filled up my pouch with grapes and got another big pouch for the trade. "Thank you so much!" We both said to each other. Then, I got some food for my family; two chunks of fatty narwhal.

I staggered through the front door. "Whew! That was heavy!" Anastella laughed at the big bag I was carrying. "That had better not be all grapes!" I giggled. "Of course not, mother. It's narwhal!" She grinned. "Oh, thank you! Where are the grapes?" I patted my two pouches. "Right here. There was only one stand in the entire place!" I told her about their poorness and our trade.

She hugged me. "Oh, that was such a wonderful thing to do," she murmured. "You're such a nice girl. That was excellent. Are you hungry?" She asked. I shook my head. "No, not really. I'll just snack on a few grapes." She smiled. "Alright then. Don't eat the whole thing!" She chortled.

I swam out the door. Thoughts flowed through my head faster than I could swim. What did Anthyvus see in me? Beauty? Compassion? Or could he not see past the fact that I am a mermaid? I sighed as I saw my reflection in a large shard of sea glass. I'm not that pretty at all.

I shook my head. We loved each other, he loved me for who I am. And I loved him for who he is. But why? We both knew there was hardly a way we could be together. I swam to the beach area. I gasped at what I saw.

Was that him? No, it couldn't be. But he had no fins. But no diving equipment? Realization hit me. He had made the potion that enabled him to breathe underwater! No, no, no... This was bad. Really bad. If he was seen, some mermaid might prey on him. Or inquire.

I raced up to him as quick as I could. "Anthyvus?" I went up close to him. "What's going on?" He smiled weakly. "I just wanted to be with you." I looked him over. "Your clothes are sodden. I don't understand. What can you do to be with me?" He shook his head. "No! I'm testing this out. If I want to be with you all the time, I need to be able to live here."

I frowned. "You don't understand! You can't live here. You're a human! Even if you try, the older mermaids will try to prey on you. Maybe eat you. It's scary, but it's our tradition. Having a human, especially the son of a scientist, find out about us..." I looked at him. "All our secrets will be revealed. I know you wouldn't do that. But they don't take chances."

He looked at me with sorrow. "Are you sure? They would never accept me...?" Tears stung my eyes. "I thought you understood. We were never meant to be." He looked away. "Okay," he choked. "Please think about it. There has to be a way. There has to be a way!" He repeated that as he came to shore.

Spasms shook my whole body as tears flowed down my face and became one with the clear ocean water. I swam deep into the Reef. Being surrounded by colorful fish and coral reassured me a tiny bit. I wouldn't be able to stand it if we couldn't see each other. I thought and thought and thought, until I cried myself to sleep in the Reef.

****************************************************************************************

As the sun slowly set the water became cooler and I woke up to the high-pitched cry of the Kaeran above water. I gasped. It was late! Mother would be so worried... She would never let me see the light of day again! I swiftly swam home.

My mother welcomed me in calmly. "Yllianna..." she began. I cut her off. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was exploring in the Reef. I fell asleep, it was too soothing!" She raised a hand, and I shut my mouth. "It's alright. Please, just don't do that again." I looked into her eyes, but they betrayed nothing. I hugged her tight and swam slowly into my room.

I saw Nyxxia cuddling Lynara gleefully. Why couldn't I be so carefree? Zhontak and Xeria swam into my room, sensing the sadness that came from my heart. They swam around me lovingly and reassuringly. "Thanks, guys," I mumbled.

My bed seemed like the best place in the world as I let myself fall into its plushness. "Good night!" I called. I heard a reply from my mother and Nyxxia. Zhontak cuddled right next to my neck, while Xeria slept at the foot of my bed. Sleep enveloped me instantly and I fell into the realm of dreams.

We aren't meant to be... My own words swirled around me as I tossed turned. I saw myself bringing Anthyvus home with me. "Mom, meet -" but I was cut off as she swam towards him and started devouring him bloodthirstily! This nightmare repeated itself in many different morbidly freaky variations.

I awoke with a scream. Well, at least it was sunrise; I didn't unnecessarily wake anyone up. Except Xeria. She was a little grumpy, but that isn't so bad. I shivered. Would Anastella do that? My thoughts were interrupted as Nyxxia and Anastella came into my room. "Are you alright? What happened?" They asked me worriedly.

I tried to laugh it off, but it wouldn't come out. "Just a bad dream. Nightmare." Anastella pressed me. "Do you want to talk about it?" I shook my head and shuddered. "No, no. Please, don't worry. It happens! Zhontak has nightmares too, sometimes. He tells me about them." I tried to change the subject. Nyxxia looked at me strangely. "If you say so..." she muttered.

I smiled weakly, and hoped it reassured them. They took it, and left my room. There has to be a way... Anthyvus's sure words rang in my ears. I took the Abaia out for a swim to calm myself down. Eventually, I began telling them everything, pouring my heart out to my pets. I know, it's pathetic.

"Zhontak! I'm scared!" I finished explaining. "What if Anthyvus dies because of us?" He looked genuinely worried, and I knew he could understand me. Xeria, on the other hand, was puzzled. I sighed. "I don't know. I just don't know..."

I put the Abaia back inside and swam to the Reef. I knew that would calm me down. It never failed. Thoughts and emotions swirled through my head as I approached the colorfully beautiful Reef.I looked around and gasped in delight. My Adremeri was here! And it looked very happy to see me. Or my dried grapes.

I through some out to it, and it got them all and chewed blissfully on them. I threw them closer and closer to me until I was basically hand-feeding it. "No tension," I said softly. "I'm your friend," I whispered to it. I widened my eyes as it's fur brushed my skin. It was swimming around me, really close to me!

I squealed with joy. This was the best experience ever! But I frowned. People hunted Adremeri for food. And they were endangered. This one needed to stay in it's natural habitat. I petted its head calmly and it emitted a purr-like rumble in its throat. I realized that it was a male. "I will name you Ithilivren." I said. He swam around me faster, as if he liked the new name I had given him. "Bye bye!" I waved to it. It flipped around before imitating me and waving its fin. I giggled and swam to the beach.

My smile faded as instinct took me towards our spot. And Anthyvus was waiting for me. I stayed in the water while he was on the rock that I usually lay on when talking to him. He was grinning from ear to ear. What could be making him so gleeful?

"I think I have figured something out." He paused. "I was reading about mermaids. Your culture. And I saw that you were all female." I nodded. Where was he going with this. He continued. "So I wondered, why do you have to be all female? Why isn't there ever a male born?" I shrugged. "I guess mermaids have dominant chromosomes?" I said. He laughed.

"Well, there can be a male mermaid. If I want there to be." He looked at me. "I know how to become a mermaid. Or, more like a merman." I gasped. Was he serious? I frowned. "Growing fins and gills doesn't make you a mermaid," I said. That was kind of insulting.

He shook his head. "No, you know I love to see you swim. To see your body. I know exactly what it looks like." He smiled. "I'm trying to recreate your fin. Or something similar." I smiled weakly. It was a pretty brilliant plan. But still... "Wait, won't it wear off? And what about breathing underwater?"

His smile grew. "It won't wear off. I've strengthened it with Abaia power. It will last about 100 years. And for the breathing underwater, I've also strengthened it with Abaia power. It will also last 100 years." I widened my eyes. "You're amazing!" I gasped as I hopped onto the rock next to him. He chuckled. "Thanks, I just want to be with you." I kissed him on the cheek. "You know I feel the same."

I hopped back into the water with a graceful dive. "I guess I can teach you how to swim in the Reef." I said. He nodded. "Yeah. See you tomorrow!" He called and blew a kiss. I caught it and pressed it to my heart. "I love you!" I called. "I love you too," I heard back from him. I swam back to my home. This was great!

****************************************************************************************

Sunset came down upon the water like a long-needed break. The brightness in the water was slowly being replaced with shadows and the dark. I let it wash over me as I lay in bed. I thought about the day's events Boy, were those some good ones!

So Anthyvus would be able to breathe underwater and have a tail fin like us. Why couldn't our family accept him then? He can't have done anything wrong. And he would be staying. With me. That's a given; I wouldn't be able to bear not seeing him. Him living with me would be the best thing ever.

I scratched Xeria in front of her eyes. She let out a high rumble of bliss. I sighed happily. I couldn't wait until Anthyvus could stay with me forever! But of course, that was not guaranteed to happen. I planned a way to sweeten up Anastella. I didn't know if she would appreciate another mouth to feed.

My eyes drooped and I let my eyes close. I'd wake up early. A fresh, new day as about to start. And hopefully this day was packed with sweet and happy things!

The tiniest trickle of sunlight was all I needed to wake up immediately. I got up and went to Anastella's door. The satisfying snoring from her room was all I needed to hear. I got out a platypus for her, and dragon koi for me and Nyxxia. Then, I prepared them.

I swam up with the koi and placed them on our black sun-heating rock. Hopefully they would be cooked and hot by the time the others woke up. I got out a sharp rock and used it to cut the platypus into tiny pieces. I added a sweet seaweed to it, and sprinkled those trusty dried grapes over it. I wanted her to go after it, which she probably would.

I heard a yawn from the hallway and Nyxxia entered the room. "Yllianna! What a surprise, seeing you up," she joked. I smiled. "I'm making breakfast for us. I'll go check on the koi. Check out what I made for Anastella! But don't touch," I added. With that, I swam up to the rock.

I flipped the fish over. I saw that they were satisfyingly hot on the other side. I carried them back to the expectant Nyxxia. Right when I opened the door, Anastella walked in. "My my, look at this!" She praised me. She gasped. "Is this for me? It's beautiful!" I saw that she was looking at my platypus dish.

I grinned. "I hoped you would like it. I'm sorry it isn't cooked..." She swam over to me and gave me a big hug. "Thank you! This is great." She looked around. "Dig in, girls!" With that, she got out utensils for all of us and we started eating.

"Delicious!" Anastella wiped her face with her hand. "I loved it, thank you again." I smiled modestly. "Well, you always make us breakfast... I decided to switch it up," I said sanguinely. She was taking the bait. "You know what? Let's go out for dinner tonight. I know a great place we could go to, near the Merchant District." She offered. "Excellent Dragon Turtle there, I've heard!" exclaimed Nyxxia. "That sounds great!"

Our mother grinned. "It's on me. You girls go do whatever you want now." I nodded at my mother. "Awesome! Sounds delectable." I swam out the door. I heard Anastella call, "Be back in time for dinner!" Of course I would. We had plenty of time!

I still had some gold leftover with me, so I went to the Merchant District to get some more grapes. I didn't need to get any food. I went over to the Miscellaneous section and saw the familiar stand. I swam quickly towards it, and the little girl recognized me instantly. "Mommy, mommy! It's that nice girl who gave us food!"

The distinct face of the beautiful woman filled the doorway. "Oh, look at you! Have you come to restock on your grape supply?" She laughed. I joined her. They were looking much better than when I had last seen them. "Yes, I'm glad you are doing well," I said politely. "Well?" The little girl said. She looked at her mother and burst into a fit of giggles.

I looked at the woman in confusion. She grinned. "Ever since you came, business has been doing... Better than well." I looked at their box which used to be full of grapes. It was almost gone! "Wow! How did people, er, find out about you?" I stammered. "You!" She exclaimed. "Remember that girl who helped you carry the food. She told a bunch of people. It's spread. We are the only people selling Synaran dried grapes!"

I looked in the box again, at the pitiful amount that was left. "Does that mean that you'll be -" She cut me off. "Yes, we're all done. I guess we do have enough gold to last us a while." She nodded. "Well, I'm glad you're doing alright," I murmured. To be honest, it saddened me for them to leave. "Hopefully we will meet again, sometime." I said. "Oh yes, I do too!" The little girl gave me a big hug as she said it.

The woman nodded. "You can have the rest of the grapes, courtesy of us." She paused. "After all, you're the one who saved us." I gave the woman a big hug. "It's okay... You definitely deserved it." I shoved 1,000 gold into the little girl's hand. "You use this to buy something you want, understand?" I said, looking at her. She nodded.

I put the rest of the grapes in my pouch and waved as I swam away. They waved back. What nice people. I wonder what that little girl did with her gold. Oh well.

I swam to the beach. I hoped I hadn't kept Anthyvus waiting! My head popped to the surface. Sure enough, he was there. "Hello, love!" I hopped onto the rock. It was warm, heated by the sun. He held something in his hand. It was labeled; Underwater-Breathing Potion: Weak. "It's weak because I'm testing it out. How it feels."

I smiled. "It's not that bad," I reassured him. He laughed. "Well, what are you waiting for?" He took of his shirt and dove in the water. I jumped in after him. He tried to hold his breath instinctively, but then he remembered that he could breathe. His grin widened as he breathed normally.

"There you go!" I encouraged him. He swam around using the breaststroke. It would be much easier once he had his fin, but for now, he was kicking and swimming well. But human body design wasn't really meant for swimming underwater and staying there. He instinctively surfaced after about two minutes.

"It'll be easier once you have a fin." He looked at me and laughed. "Hopefully," he chuckled. He hopped back onto the rock and dried off with the towel he had brought with him. "Well, I guess I'll see you later?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah," I murmured.

"Wait." He stopped. "How long will it take for you to grow a fin? After the potion is ingested?" I inquired. He paused. "Erm, about a week," he mumbled. My eyes widened. "What!? What will you do for that week? You can't stay with your parents. What will you do?"

"I was hoping... That I could stay down here. In the sea." His voice was barely audible. "You can't do anything to quicken it? Nothing at all?" I asked desperately. "Well... I did. That's the thing... It originally takes a month. I quickened it all I could."

I know the title is cliche, I will change it. I'm not finished, but you may start reading it. Only 500 words now, hopefully it will be 5,000 when I'm done. :D

EDIT: Now 3,000 words!? Whoa! :aah:
EDIT: Changed title; 3,880 words! :D
EDIT: Now almost 5,000 words! :evil:
EDIT: Now at 5,500 words!!! I made a couple of changes in the first section.
EDIT: Now at 6,300 words! The resolution is starting...
Last edited by crazyflight on August 30th, 2011, 5:42:23 pm, edited 11 times in total.
ImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImage
always looking to buy streamborn opal and diamond gemstone kirin!
also happy to buy water shop creatures for shop price + 100g for whomever wants!
<3 <3 <3
Post Reply

Return to “Tea House”