Completely off topic, but LOOK AT THE ICON ISN'T IT CUTE *A*
I am back in CA safely! I also need a flipton of lotion because man I forgot how dry Colorado can be, even if it is only for five days. I have a ton of things to talk about, from sleep deprivation to flights to Thanksgiving prayer shenanigans to Kennedy to eleven-year-old ticket stubs to reasons to make sure all the lights in your car are off before you leave for nearly a week, but honestly, I'm pretty much only posting for one reason:
I writed another thing.
Dear Self, where on Earth did your priorities go, love Self. It's another in the series of bitty!Terra drabbles, sequential after the previous two, far too long to fit on kh_drabble, untitled, unbeta'd, and very rough...but it's here, and the story's moving along. I count these as good things. Please leave me some crit if you have any, and in the meantime, enjoy~
~~*~~
It had been a very long time since she’d been someplace this crowded - not since she’d begun her training with Master Eraqus, she realized. This was the first market she’d attended since her arrival here. It was loud, and crowded, and full of more sights and smells and people than she’d ever imagined or was quite used to.
It was a little overwhelming.
Eraqus had allowed her to wander off on her own, on the conditions that she not wander too far and not get into trouble - expectations she did not intend to disappoint. As it was, she’d been looking for a quieter place to enjoy the pastry she’d purchased with one of the coins Eraqus had given her. Hopefully, the edge of the market didn’t count as “too far.” She worried about it for a bit, deciding to return to the market after she’d finished her treat. It wouldn’t matter if she was only gone for a short amount of time, right?
She shifted, pastry nearly forgotten, as her worry subsided and a sinking unease took its place. Something felt wrong. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, which only made the feeling worse. Never mind waiting to finish her snack; maybe she should head back to Eraqus now. He’d know what to do.
Between the ambient sounds of the market behind her and her preoccupation with her own thoughts, she nearly missed the quiet, frightened noise ahead of her. She’d heard the sound before; she’d made it herself when she woke up from her infrequent nightmares.
But who had nightmares in the middle of the day?
Compassion overcame uncertainty and she headed for the crest of the low hill before her, curious to know who was making that noise in the small valley just beyond it. What she saw made her reel back in shock, hands clamped over her mouth to muffle her own cry of fear.
Monsters.
The inky, yellow-eyed creatures stood head and shoulders - if she could even call them that - above the small girl they’d encircled. The girl sobbed again, frightened beyond screams - screams that might have alerted someone more capable to come to her aid. Right now, it was only Aqua.
Her mind raced. She knew her Master was capable of defeating the creatures, but she’d never find him in time in the market’s bustling crowd. She couldn’t fight them all herself, either - not with the few combat skills she had now and without a Keyblade of her own just yet. Most importantly, she couldn’t let the girl get hurt. But what could she do?
“Hey!”
She jerked in surprise at the yell. Evidently the decision had been taken out of her hands, and she watched in quiet shock as a painfully skinny boy at the bottom of the hill - one she hadn’t seen before; he must have been an offworlder - picked up a rock and slung it at one of the monsters, hitting it square between the eyes.
The monster jerked. Several sets of bulbous yellow eyes turned to face him. The small girl shivered, curious and scared all at once. Aqua shifted, ready to run - towards him or back to the market for help, she didn’t know yet.
The boy picked up another rock and caught Aqua’s eye. He glanced pointedly to the young girl, then to the market, then back to Aqua. She nodded, and in that fraction of a second she knew exactly what he planned to do and just how dangerous it would be.
He hurled another rock at the monsters, striking another one on the head. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size!”
The monster tilted its head. Its pack stiffened. She could nearly hear the unspoken answer hang heavy in the air.
Like you?
Nearly as one, the monsters dashed towards the boy, who turned and sprinted for his life - away from the market, Aqua noticed as she took the hill’s downward slope at a headlong run. He wanted to keep other people from getting hurt, same as she did. That meant he might not survive this.
The thought only made her run faster.
She reached the smaller girl, grabbing her hand and turning back towards the market. “Come on! Run!” The girl didn’t need to be told twice, and hand in hand they sprinted back towards the crowd as fast as their legs would carry them.
The boy had bought them time. Aqua was going to use it to find her Master. He’d know what to do.
I writed another thing.
Dear Self, where on Earth did your priorities go, love Self. It's another in the series of bitty!Terra drabbles, sequential after the previous two, far too long to fit on kh_drabble, untitled, unbeta'd, and very rough...but it's here, and the story's moving along. I count these as good things. Please leave me some crit if you have any, and in the meantime, enjoy~
~~*~~
It had been a very long time since she’d been someplace this crowded - not since she’d begun her training with Master Eraqus, she realized. This was the first market she’d attended since her arrival here. It was loud, and crowded, and full of more sights and smells and people than she’d ever imagined or was quite used to.
It was a little overwhelming.
Eraqus had allowed her to wander off on her own, on the conditions that she not wander too far and not get into trouble - expectations she did not intend to disappoint. As it was, she’d been looking for a quieter place to enjoy the pastry she’d purchased with one of the coins Eraqus had given her. Hopefully, the edge of the market didn’t count as “too far.” She worried about it for a bit, deciding to return to the market after she’d finished her treat. It wouldn’t matter if she was only gone for a short amount of time, right?
She shifted, pastry nearly forgotten, as her worry subsided and a sinking unease took its place. Something felt wrong. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, which only made the feeling worse. Never mind waiting to finish her snack; maybe she should head back to Eraqus now. He’d know what to do.
Between the ambient sounds of the market behind her and her preoccupation with her own thoughts, she nearly missed the quiet, frightened noise ahead of her. She’d heard the sound before; she’d made it herself when she woke up from her infrequent nightmares.
But who had nightmares in the middle of the day?
Compassion overcame uncertainty and she headed for the crest of the low hill before her, curious to know who was making that noise in the small valley just beyond it. What she saw made her reel back in shock, hands clamped over her mouth to muffle her own cry of fear.
Monsters.
The inky, yellow-eyed creatures stood head and shoulders - if she could even call them that - above the small girl they’d encircled. The girl sobbed again, frightened beyond screams - screams that might have alerted someone more capable to come to her aid. Right now, it was only Aqua.
Her mind raced. She knew her Master was capable of defeating the creatures, but she’d never find him in time in the market’s bustling crowd. She couldn’t fight them all herself, either - not with the few combat skills she had now and without a Keyblade of her own just yet. Most importantly, she couldn’t let the girl get hurt. But what could she do?
“Hey!”
She jerked in surprise at the yell. Evidently the decision had been taken out of her hands, and she watched in quiet shock as a painfully skinny boy at the bottom of the hill - one she hadn’t seen before; he must have been an offworlder - picked up a rock and slung it at one of the monsters, hitting it square between the eyes.
The monster jerked. Several sets of bulbous yellow eyes turned to face him. The small girl shivered, curious and scared all at once. Aqua shifted, ready to run - towards him or back to the market for help, she didn’t know yet.
The boy picked up another rock and caught Aqua’s eye. He glanced pointedly to the young girl, then to the market, then back to Aqua. She nodded, and in that fraction of a second she knew exactly what he planned to do and just how dangerous it would be.
He hurled another rock at the monsters, striking another one on the head. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size!”
The monster tilted its head. Its pack stiffened. She could nearly hear the unspoken answer hang heavy in the air.
Like you?
Nearly as one, the monsters dashed towards the boy, who turned and sprinted for his life - away from the market, Aqua noticed as she took the hill’s downward slope at a headlong run. He wanted to keep other people from getting hurt, same as she did. That meant he might not survive this.
The thought only made her run faster.
She reached the smaller girl, grabbing her hand and turning back towards the market. “Come on! Run!” The girl didn’t need to be told twice, and hand in hand they sprinted back towards the crowd as fast as their legs would carry them.
The boy had bought them time. Aqua was going to use it to find her Master. He’d know what to do.