#darkrai's guide

[candlitnights]

New Guide Chapter!

Ridley has made her debut!

As promised in the chapter end notes, here's the art that my beta, @nanetchi, has created of her over time.

And of course, the new chapter:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/47912539/chapters/230486901

[candlitnights]

"Guide" Sneak Peek by CandlitNights

(Accompanied by art that one of my new Guide betas made!! @nanetchi )

Ok, so!! Be aware that these are spoilers! I made a new character for Darkrai's Guide, a Gible by the name of Ridley. I couldn't wait to introduce her and have been dying to release this, so now that the chapter is out, go wild! - CandlitNights

The cry was faint, and there was a quality to it that once again prompted some buried instinct to click into place. Mourning, pleading, and weak... Without any further thought, he pivoted toward the sound, dropping the hunk of iron as all senses funneled into a tunnel vision of sorts. He crooned softly in question—where are you?

The pathetic sound rasped further ahead, past a cranny in the wall that even his eyes had trouble noticing at first. He made promptly for it, squeezing himself through the gap and following his nose. Aside from the more foul scent of droppings nearby, he couldn’t detect the presence of another, human or pokémon. A hatchling then? Many species had no scent upon birth to avoid detection by predators... The thought propelled him more urgently forward, calling out again in earnest. Another mewl sounded in response, tucked away beyond one more bend in the cave wall, and suddenly there it was.

As Darkrai rounded that corner, several things became swiftly apparent. First, the other had, indeed, been a hatchling. And what a pitiful sight the poor thing was. Lying before him in a nest of piled rocks and grasses, a tiny Gible sprawled, shivering. Second, it was hardly larger than a Dedenne—not freshly hatched, but still recent enough. No eggshells remained in the nest, so a mother had at some point cleared them out...

Lowering as much as he could with a purr in his throat, Darkrai drew closer to sample the scents of the nest. Still, feeble as it was, the hatchling had realized by this point that he wasn’t familiar. Now it scrabbled weakly to the end of the nest with a rattle of air that might have been a wail. Its back bared to him now, he noticed the smooth contour of its dorsal fin—a female. Darkrai crooned to her once more as he took in the rest of the picture: mainly, the fact that the scent of the space was stale. No other pokémon but the hatchling had been here for a couple of days, and no scent of food lingered, either. Just the lonely and pungent scent of an orphaned, unkempt nest.

Drawing back, Darkrai fumbled with the pack at his waist. He had no meat, which was direly needed soon, but a paste of berries could only help. Spreading out one of the caster leaves he’d tucked away, he made swift work of mashing a few orans and leppas together. Then gently, he placed the offering into the nest before backing up to give the little one space.

“Eat,” he murmured. The Gible was far too young to know many words yet, let alone respond with any, but surely a mother had spoken this exhortation before? “Come, eat.”

Unfortunately, if the tiny thing understood, she didn’t move for the food. She barely took her watery eyes off of him to even consider the meal. It was only when Darkrai was about to turn back in hopes of bringing Akari that the hatchling let out a frantic chirp. Darkrai perked up with encouragement as she finally crawled forward to the leaf. She sniffed the concoction with a wary reluctance before taking a bite. Something in Darkrai’s chest swelled.

“Good.” He couldn’t help but smile. The fear that had become stuffy within the den was finally melting away as the child ate with increasing fervor. “Eat.”

Thank you again, Nan!!!

Here's the full fic if you want to read:

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[candlitnights]

Inbox is Open!

Mallow needs uppies! (art by @ghostovniart )

For those who may not have seen, my betas and I have opened character asks for:

WMD: Darkrai (Shade), Cresselia (Celeste), Mallow, and Giratina with moderation (he can't answer spoilers).

Guide: Darkrai (Darius), Cresselia, Zephyr, Quill, and Sarabi. (Ridley will be available later).

The inbox is currently empty, so send them some love!

Please note: If the question is plot-pertinent and an answer would involve spoilers, characters may answer it later or answer it vaguely depending. :) So if you don’t get an answer, assume it’s being held for a later date! Please do not swear or use more suggestive language in your questions. Otherwise, I may filter those out or edit the wording because I don’t want that on my blog. Thanks for understanding!

(I accidentally lied on my last post; Ghost made this, and i couldn't withhold this beauty from you all. Now i shall take my leave for a break, lol)

[candlitnights]

Courtesy of @nanetchi , have a meme about the latest Guide Chapter. (The story is "Darkrai's Guide to the Care and Keeping of Humans" written by me, CandlitNights, on AO3; Nanetchi is one of my betas, along with Ghostovni).

Thank you, nan!! :DDDD