Thanks for the tag @thecadmiuminkwell! I really enjoyed your snippet ^w^
Tbh, I wasn’t sure how long a snippet should be? and haven’t written in some time XD The words have gone on vacation and left me at the airport <.<;;
This is from the first scene I wrote (not the first scene of the story) for a new wip I have featuring the characters Dogwood (Nonbinary protagonist who is a witch with a touch of immortality, currently in their early 20s), Mason (Part cat humanoid baker, also in her early-mid 20s, has the opposite of a touch of immortality), and Monroe (a young air dragon who was stolen from his home to be sold partwise as magical supplements on the black market but was rescued by Dogwood. Goes by Moe for ease.)
Trigger warning: Death mentions
Tears bubbled down their face as they whispered, “Isn’t there anything we can do?” They couldn’t just sit back and let it happen. They had magic, and knowledge, and pure, unshakable will. But they couldn’t keep hold of her. She was slipping away in their arms.
She shook her head, still smiling softly. “Just hold me, okay? Listen to the crickets with me.”
“Okay.” They shifted, pulling her onto their lap and wrapping their arms around her. They sat quietly together while the still night around them sung the song of life. She listened to their wobbly heartbeat while they wondered if she’d fallen asleep.
“HEY!!” Moe stood in Dogwood’s footprints, fuming from the top of the slope. “What are you doing leaving me like that!! You can’t just run off and, and, what are you doing?” He slid and stumbled down, bounding to their sides. “Are you making out?? That’s so gross! Is this what you do every-”
“Monroe!” Dogwood cut him off, their tone softening as they nod to Mason, “We’ve got to be quiet, okay?”
Moe tilted his head, frowning in confusion. He approached cautiously, catching on to the atmosphere. Mason held her paw out to him. Suddenly worried, he rested his muzzle against her skin.
“What’s wrong? How come you’re so cold?”
She sighed, trailing her fingers over his head to cup his cheek. “I’m very tired tonight.”
“Well, you should go back to bed then so you can feel better.”
She shook her head slowly. “That isn’t going to work buddy, not this time.”
Then he understood. The same wave of icy dread that had washed over Dogwood crashed into him, leaving him gasping.
“No!” His talons dug into her coat. “You can’t die! We’re friends, right?? Friends don’t leave!” His head snapped to Dogwood. “You know magic! Fix this! Make her better Dogwood!!” Sobs wracked his little body. “Please, Dogwood, please. Fix this!”
“Hey,” Mason scooped him up, holding him close to her chest, “it’s okay. Look.” She tilted his chin, so he was staring into the glittering sky. There was no moon tonight, only an endless sea of stars. “No one is going to be alone. I’m going to go to sleep and when I wake up, I’ll be up there with all of the stars. I’ll watch over you both forever.”
“But I don’t want a star! I want you!” He wrapped himself around her as far as his little dragon arms would let him.
She pulled the long red ribbon from around her throat. She tugged at the sides for a moment before realising her strength was no longer enough. Instead, she held it to Dogwood with a quiet ‘could you..?’. They nodded swiping at their cheeks before sliding two fingers across the centre, severing it cleanly in half. She tied one halve around their wrist, the other around Moe’s barely grown nub of a horn. Even in her weak and tired state, her nimble fingers worked deftly.
“A piece of me to keep you safe when I can’t.” She explained as she tied the small bows, “When a god likes a human, they mark them with a red string. This is from my patron. It’s how I’ll always be able to find you. Okay?”
Dogwood couldn’t bring themselves to say anything, all they could do was hold tight to their friends, tears streaming down their face.
Tagging -> @kainablue, @aslanwrites, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, and @inkjackets
Feel free to ignore if you don’t want to do this :3 or to join in if you do 💜
