Skiyomi

Part 3. The paddle dipped into the dark water, catching against mud and plant-matter and gods only knew what else. Filia surveyed the scene from her perch on the boards that crossed from one side of the boat to another. The splash of the oar propelling her tiny craft forward was a sharp contrast to the quiet around her. Even the clouds that had riddled the town with raindrops had ceased their onslaught, though the sky threatened that this reprieve could be short-lived. The rooftops that peeked out from the newly created sea were empty. There was not a man, woman or child in sight, awaiting rescue from the high ground. Not even so much as the

Misty sat by the edge of the river, her arms folded across her knees. Her red hair, tied back in her signature ponytail, quavered in the warm breeze. She'd sat on that bank on many summer days, but the scene was very different than it had been in the past. Her lips were drawn in an inconsolable frown, and her tear ducts threatened to make her feelings all the more apparent. She let her head sink until her forehead touched her forearm. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't. She was very clear with herself on this point. But it was so hard for her not to. Even when she tried to calmly, unemotionally think of what to do: crying seemed like the ne

Dark clouds swirled around her like ribbons. Golden contrails of stars sparkled in the blackness. Iris blinked. "Where… am I?" she said out loud. She felt strange. It was as though none of this was real. She looked down at herself. Her bare skin shimmered as though lit from within by some sort of internal fire. She curled her toes and realized she was standing on nothing. She was beholden to a force greater than gravity, and it was gently cradling her in its invisible grasp. A dream? Iris thought to herself. That would've explained the cosmic grandeur of it all. And yet there was something about it that felt real to her, or…

Silly Slayers Vignettes V In Which Amelia is Comforted by Strong, Rocky Arms. Amelia nuzzled her face against his shoulder, wiping a tear away. It wasn’t as though the rocky surface was ideal for tears—no, it had very little in common with a gentle handkerchief. But yet it gave her more comfort than any monogrammed scrap of fabric could possibly hope to. “Thank you,” she said, squeezing her savior tight, “for being here. It’s been so hard dealing with everything… there are so many responsibilities… and with grandfather gone it’s been so…” “There’s no need,&rd

The Past. In a rush of golden wings, Milgazia landed. The mouth of the cave was ahead of him, dark, save a few fairy lights. But it was the light behind him that was much more worrying than the blackness ahead. He shook his reptilian head at this thought. The Pillar of Light was far, far away. No doubt the followers of the Fire Dragon King would be looking into the matter with all the vigorous purpose that they were known for. Milgazia could only hope to protect those in his province. The remnant on Dragon's Peak had more than enough to attend to without borrowing troubles. He stepped into the cavern—a faraway retreat from the bustli

Part 2. Filia’s eyes shot open. None of the usual, slow waking up elements of transition accompanied her shift from unconsciousness to consciousness. There was no slow eyelid flutter, no soft groan as the light from the window became too much to ignore and as the senses slowly perked up to register birdsong and domestic bustle. She’d gone from laid out on the bed with her eyes closed to sitting up and staring wide-eyed at the peeling wallpaper in two seconds flat. “No…” she said, gazing down at the covers of her hotel room bed as though they’d betrayed her. “It wasn’t a dream,” she decl

A Stray Child Part 1. Filia sat in the rocking seat of the carriage and silently wished she could will away the rain that had started pattering against the roof. If the weather had held out, she could’ve at least promised Val a bright sunny picnic later—a distantly hanging incentive that would’ve made this journey less a tedious business trip that he’d been dragged along for and more the family time that she desperately wanted it to be. She hugged her small suitcase of luggage close to her as she tried to block out Jillas’s snores from the bench next to her and instead turned to Val, peering out the window. We