Experimental Drabbles

[Experimentally]

Hello again, lovely forum members! Since I share too many qualities with your average three-toed sloth (namely the lack of speed) in terms of creating content, I estimated that it would be easier to simply create a Drabble thread. The name is unoriginal, but my content is original  this is a place for me to experiment, so again, feel free to tell me what you did or didn’t like!

Please do not judge me too harshly. I understand that I have room to improve, and hopefully my quality of writing is not a reflection of myself  without further ado, here is the thread!

 

Summoning Something Else

Female, Allergy

Alia crouched on the balls of her feet, rocking back and forth and sprinkling incense herbs from chalk-dusted hands. She muttered as she worked. The symbol in front of her gradually took shape, the greens and yellows of the dried spices showing blatantly on the deep red of the brick floor. The lit candles lent an eerie glow to the proceedings, and her shadow cast long tendrils up the further walls. The entire room she was in was sealed off apart from a door, leading to an outside a little less lenient to witchcraft. The subtle smell of the herbs drifted through the air. She sniffed and momentarily pressed her wrist to her nose as her nostrils flared. This only succeeded in bringing the spices closer to her sensitive nose, and she inhaled more, sniffling again as her nose began to tickle madly.  “Ughh... heaH-! HXNT!” She sneezed a quick stifle. Her nose was far from finished and she fanned her face as her nostrils flared again. “HeaH- HCH’HOO! “ Snapped downwards as a light spray misted over the symbol before she managed to cover her itchy nose again. “Heh’HXGNT! Snffff... H’xTCH! Ughh- HX’NTCH!” Sneezes began to burst from her twitching nose as the spices thrown up from her nasal explosions were inhaled, shooting along with her desperate gasps deep into her sinuses. “HAH- H’TCHOO! HE’TCHEW! Heah- HEATCHH!” There they swirled, lightly dancing over her sensitive membranes, creating deep itches in the farthest reaches of her nose. ”Dahhh- H’TCHEWW! Dard aller- heaHHHH- HAH- HET’CHHEEEWWW!”

With that the ritual was obliterated. It left a haze of tickly dust drifting through the air of the room, as its sole creator continued to shake with sneeze after tortured sneeze.

[Experimentally]

Drabble 2- such an original title.

Cheeks red from fever, body aching and lungs rattling with coughs. This is what he had become over the course of the past few days.

”H’urshh!”

He sneezed and groaned congestedly. A puff of air escaped his lips and set him coughing, irritating his throat and sinuses again as it grew. Harsh coughs racked his chest, sending abrupt bursts of air to stop short at his already congested nasal passageways, lighting another tickle-

He sneezed a second time. It was weak, a bending forwards and upwards before resting back onto his pillows with a huff. His expansive nostrils were red and irritated from constant sneezing, the bridge of his nose having developed a constant crease, too congested to run but not enough to stop the feathery touch of illness that racked his body with the occasional sneeze. It was late in the morning. His  eyes were wet with tears from the constant irritation in his sinuses that plagued him. 

In the clenched hands on his duvet he held crumpled tissues that he swabbed at his watery, stuffy nose at from time to time. They weren’t too useful, but provided some relief when he had to clear his sinuses. The picture of illness. Maybe after a few days he would get better, but for now...

His breath hitched again as he raised a tissue to his mouth, eyebrows drawing upwards and nose creasing into a familiar line-

[Experimentally]

 

Drabble three? 

Alex looked up at the sound of his name, his book cradled in his lap. “Yeah? What- oh, lordy.”

In front of him stood his roommate Chris, eyes and nose dripping and pink as he rubbed a hand over his face. His chestnut curls were in dissaray, his shirt a rumpled mess and covered in a gray substance. Why did these things always happen to him? Alex didn’t know, but it was usually him mopping up the mess. Mostly because Chris was clumsy despite his size.

”Ahh- Alex- snff” he paused to give a watery sniffle as his nose twitched. It seemed almost alive with irritation. “I kdow I shoud- heahhh-“ A pause, as something seemed to distract him. He dazedly placed a finger under his nose, which was the centre of his attention. The other hovered at his side. It seemed unsure of what to do. “Heaahh- hah!”

Alex was on his feet, book abandoned. He grabbed Chris a couple tissues from the box beside the couch. “Oi, what the hell happened to you?” He asked as he handed them over, watching more tears stream from Chris’s reddened eyes but unable to find the source of his misery.

Chris grabbed the thin paper and pressed it to his face. He squinted at the tissue and massages his nose for a couple seconds, but nothing happened.

”Hahhh- ugh. I was id tde libra- hah- librar-“ he was cut off by a series of desperately hitching breaths as his eyes screwed up. The tissues were already quite soggy. “Ahh- haaahhhh- ehhh. Mby dose is juhhh- hah- !“ Alex watched him struggle helplessly, trying to hear his muffled voice through the tissue. It wasn’t too clear. 

“Jusd so it- itchy- heh- hHH-! HET’SHOO! T-tickles s- HESSHOOOO! HET’SHHH!”

Breaking into a sneezing fit, Chris clamped the tissues to his nose as it continued to try and purge itself of whatever was plaguing it. It wasn’t working.

[Experimentally]

Another Drabble! I think I would advise everyone to skip to the end of the thread when entering, since the writing will hopefully get better 

 

This one’s about Kale, and his days in the barracks. I’ll explain his backstory in depth.... later! Whoops.  

Just for the moment, he’s going through training with his allies, a couple other students from the academy. They’ve been sent into the field for a week in order to fight down a pack of wild dogs that have been plaguing a nearby town in the woods, stealing their chickens and cattle and terrorizing the people. 

The setting is a more medival- type with a queen and king, where magic took over instead of technology. So it’s on magic that the people rely and it’s magic that Kale and his fellow trainees are learning. You’ll see.

I’ll start the official story soon!

 

Character descriptions

“Kale!” It was Kira.

”DON’T! CALL! ME! THAT!”

He spun and fired a bolt of fire from his right hand, palm outstretched. It grazed the flank of one of the mutts surrounding Ki. Yelping, it ran off in flames, briefly illuminating the corpse of trees in which they found themselves.

It was early, far too early. Three past moonhigh? Four? They had been roused from their encampment in the woods by the angry barking of the exact pack of dogs they had been hunting for a week. Figures. Now they were fighting an enemy that could smell them and surround them a lot better than they could see.

They were Kale (ugh), Kira, Hun, and Feli. In order of roll:

Kale- by far the most handsome and capable- not his thoughts or anything. Second oldest and shortest, which was completely unfair. Eighteen. Battling the dogs with a fire bolt spell. He can feel every blast through his bones, and the heat from each warms his palm, which is becoming uncomfortably warm.

Kira- skinny and shivery, youngest and wishing she had brought a coat. Not as if the weather was cold, but it was warmer back at the barracks and she was fighting alongside an ice mage. Her hair’s short and curly in a brown bob. She had come up with the idea of Kale, and with her gently suggestive personality, he’d already forgotten his original name. Magic.

Hun- Soft, cuddly, plump and loveable. Freckles dot his cinnamon cheeks and nose and he has spectacles that need to be pushed up no matter the circumstance. His eyes are honey-coloured and their sweetness mirrors the mists he emits from his fingertips, swirling through the air and trapping the dogs within as the fall into a deep sleep. He doesn’t want to kill them.

Feli- the oldest at eighteen and a half (the injustice) and taller than everyone. Her hair is short and silvery like the bursts of ice from her hands. Snow rains on the dogs as their companions freeze into ice. She leads the battle and slows down Kale’s attacks with her ice and cold blue eyes.

[mysterysneeze]

Nice job with the different characters! I like how you described each one in your own fun way. Felt and Kira sound interesting, and I think Hun is an adorable sounding character that has a nice trait of not wanting to kill. Kale sounds great how you described him. He kind of reminds me of Full Metal Alchemist XD

 

Good luck with what you want to do! =)

[Experimentally]

On 2018-04-03 at 5:59 PM, mysterysneeze said:

Nice job with the different characters! I like how you described each one in your own fun way. Felt and Kira sound interesting, and I think Hun is an adorable sounding character that has a nice trait of not wanting to kill. Kale sounds great how you described him. He kind of reminds me of Full Metal Alchemist XD

 

Good luck with what you want to do! =)

Thank you so much for your support!  

 

Still not too sneezy! I swear it’ll be soon  but I really want to establish the characters. 

 

The Pack

Kira moved her hands in a reassuring circle, light magic dusting from her fingers in a mesmerizing stream as the dog watched. It sat almost immobile as a statue apart from the strings of drool hissing onto the snow below it. Three others flanked it.

Around her fire flew and icicles speared through fur. She caught a whiff of something sweet and vanilla-scented as Hun hurried past. Barking and whimpers ensued, though the snow and the pounding in her ears muffled the noises of battle. 

That was good. Concentration was needed. She was running out of time. Ever since the dogs had massed outside the camp-

she ran a finger under her nose-

her allergies had been acting up. Apparently eau-de-wild-dog-fur didn’t agree with her immune system and she could feel the congestion forming at the back of her sinuses... a tickle that grew with every second. She rubbed her bare arms; forgetting a sweater hadn’t been too useful either, though she rarely got ill. It was just the cold-

the dog at the front let out a low growl and took a couple steps closer. The snow crunching under its paws made her look up. AUGH. She couldn’t lose focus like that. 

“Nice dog... doggie.... nice-“

She paused to sniffle again, trying to clear her nose. It prickled in protest. That didn’t matter, she needed a clear voice. It was easier to weave a charm over honey-smooth words.

Kale spared a moment to watch her, a wrinkle appearing on his forehead with concern. This encounter must be hard on her, not that he actually paid attention to any of his teammates. He was just there for the training and graduation.

Another dog leapt at him, yellow fangs bared for his throat. He swiftly raised a right hand and shot a bolt of flame that incinerated it and caused yet another soot-black stone to fall into the snow. Curiouser and curiouser. Feli would probably be able to sort it out afterwards, she was smarter than him and technically the leader. The injustice.

Every time he shot, his palm glowed with a burst of strangely intense heat. Perhaps this was his weakness. Every mage had one- the more intense, the greater power they could master. Kira was even battling against hers right now. It just went to illustrate how perfectly the reflection of strength to weakness was. A subtly creeping problem for a subtle gift.

He hadn’t found his yet, apart from some strange overheating after his  training sessions. As a fire mage, this was an obvious side effect, but he was the only one not immune to his own fire. Go figure. He had never used his magic with such intensity before, so maybe he’d figure it out this time.

Another bolt of fire sent a poodle, fur matted, running yelping into a nearby snowbank. Feli quickly turned and froze it over, trapping it into a cage. She winked at Kale and spun to send up a cover of snow that he could feel the icy wind from even a log-length away. A smallish log, granted.

She seemed to be doing just fine. 

So what about Hun?

Hun, his literal name, or Honey. Kira loved nicknaming the other trainees. Strangely enough this one didn’t stick, perhaps since both were equally used among the group. 

He used mist-magic, or flowers, or some type of scent that he emitted from his.... pores? Skin? Kale didn’t know. Whatever it was, it smelled good as hell and could have all sorts of effects, though most of them were soporific. He was the smol one, though not the youngest. He loved animals and was sweet and kind. One of those “I’ve-only-known-him-for-five-minutes-but-if-anything-happened-to-him-I’d-kill-everyone-in-this-room” type of guys. Again. Not that Kale cared. His cool guy facade was obviously too well-constructed. 

The dogs barked and he shot a few more flames as the heat seemed to creep up his arm a little more. Their tents were hopefully far enough away to be torn to shreds. Kira sneezed a couple of times and then cursed, sneezing again. The night would be difficult for her. Feli- so far Kale didn’t know her weakness- was still fine, stamina endless and icicles spearing enemy after enemy. 

The fight raged on until about sunrise, when black stones dotted the clearing and a pile of sleeping dogs snored gently in the snow.

 

[Experimentally]

The Pack- part two

Kale’s hand was glowing- not literally- with a worrying heat when they returned to the tents. They sat in the communal area, arranged on various trunks and folding chairs. Hun had a cup of tea in one hand and a biscuit in the other. He blew on the tea to cool it, his mouth a small “o.”

”Kale-“ he paused and glanced up, pushing his glasses up his nose “your hand is an unnatural red. That’s not- I mean.” He trailed off as he was apt to do. “I mean. It looks painful?”

Glancing down, Kale confirmed that it was indeed a shade not uncommonly seen in, say, the center of a sunset. Somewhat patchy too- it seemed to be darker around his palm. Though it didn’t hurt, it was still strangely warm, and ached with a subtle pulse every time he moved it. Not enough to worry him, though. “Maybe I should stick it in a bucket of ice water? Cool it off?” He looked at Feli, who raised an eyebrow and conjured a couple of ice cubes.

”Ha- Hetchh! Ah- hah...”

They looked at Kira.

”Hektchhh! ” She scrunched up her eyes, pressing a finger to under her nose as it started to run again. She grabbed a tissue and blew, book forgotten. “Why meeeee”

”A weakness is to create balance” cited Feli and Hun nodded. “It cannot be resolved.”

”Mhm. Well I could just-“ she smiled sweetly “get a couple ice cubes and make the prob- hH- Hxnt!”

The last sneeze she stifled into her sleeve, letting out a tiny gasp. “ah. I’m done then. Almo- ahh- almost...” 

 Feli showered her with a literal hail of ice as she sneezed yet again. 

Meanwhile, Kale. He had grabbed Kira’s book as it fell, and was looking through to find any material on his tingling hand. The slightly uncomfortable warmth was spreading up his arm.

[Experimentally]

The Pack- part 3

Some point in the night, something woke Kale up. At first he couldn’t figure out what it was, perhaps

”Huh- kTCH’EWW! Ah- ngh- ahh-!”

The first sneeze caught him off guard, causing him to messily spray the roof of the tent above him. A deep tickle was dancing around his sinuses, causing his nose to twitch in an effort to repel whatever was irritating it so. Desperate inhale-

“Ahh- hahhh- asSHSHEWW! Whh-“

Still not awake, he became aware that his body was warm, more so than comfortable. Sweat trickled down his neck and his bones seemed to ache as his lungs drew in desperate air for another sneeze. One of his arms was pinned under his pillow.

”guh- hahh- HEA’TCHEWW! ASHHEWWW! Ah- heh... haah....”

The other was under his blanket.

He lay there in the dark as he felt a light mist land on his cheeks, registering how good and cool it felt before disgust. His breath was ever so slightly steaming in the air.

Flu? Dragon sand? I feel as if I’ve been poisoned.

Please let this not affect our mission. I’ll get better soon and no one will have to worry. 

 

His bleary thoughts were distracted by another inhale as his nose tingled again, but his chest caught and he burst into a coughing fit. Oh, god. He raised an arm above his mouth to catch the spray as the movement of air irritated his sinuses. Would this ever end? Apparently not. The tickle caught and ebbed. It danced just out of reach, leaving him frustrated and itchy. He squinted in the darkness, breathing shallow as tears moved to join the sheen of sweat on his face. Definitely poisoned. 

“Heahh- ASHHHEnxgt! Kxnt!”

Stifling did little to help the now raging itch that ran up and down the bridge of his nose. He lay back with a groan as it teased him, causing his breath to again hitch over and over as congestion made him breath through his mouth. 

Maybe to do with....

”AhHNXT! NgHXT! AahHXT!”

It was too hot. Heat. He could barely think now- the fit had left him needing oxygen and he couldn’t breathe through his nose. Fever muffled his thoughts and constricted his chest. Another  coughing fit shook him. This time he didn’t try to stop it, instead lying back and gasping between coughs to try and just breathe...

Was something there? Watching him... he could hear footsteps...

Lighting a flame around his hand was, in retrospect, not a good decision. The heat in his body soared to a new height as it consumed his energy.

The last thing he saw before he passed out was a pale figure at the opening of his tent.

 

[mysterysneeze]

You did great with these!  I liked each one. You have nice characters and the concept of magic and temperature manipulation with sneezes is a cool concept to me.