#fff147

[enchanted-lightning-aes]

In A Passage

A/N: just a tale of a traveller getting confused in a place she’s stuck in.^^

Word Count: 725

TW: None

***

Trekking on a grassy path, an adventurer focused on where it might lead her to. Her boots crunched on broken wooden twigs. A stuffy scent surrounded her while monkey shrieked from above. Vines hung together, connected in random shambles.

She better not be trapped in here for long, she thought, grumbling curses under her breath. All thanks to a faulty engine.

For weeks, the adventurer had been looking forward to an expedition. To an unknown place, where she might uncover lost secrets.

However, after her airplane went awry, she got here in a crash landing. As the only passenger, she had been the only person to get injured. If any other people have been involved, there might have been bloodshed.

At least, she had brought emergency supplies for this sort of scenario. She might have been complete toast if she didn't.

Perhaps, she should have taken land transportation instead of air. Now the more she really thought about, the more she regretted taking a plane.

For a deserted jungle, plants sprawled across the land into different directions. Scattered with pebbles and fronds. Vines laying on branches or hanging down. As if someone thrashed the entire area in a frenzied state of rampage.

Yikes. The adventurer grimaced, repressing a shudder.

She had to find a way out before things got bad.

And while she had been prepared for this specific scenario, it didn't mean she could avoid accidents. For all she knew, she might get attacked by an animal, who was angry at her intrusion.

The adventurer ducked her head as she moved big leaves aside. She spotted a rocky cliffside, which blocked a portion of sunlight. She sensed jungle air, slipping over a leaf.

Grabbing onto a branch, she tried to find her balance once more.

A tapping noise dropped into a slow rhythm then disappeared just as fast.

Huh? What was that?

Arching a brow, she ambled on a path where it repeated, and rested a hand at her utility belt. She strained her ears to hear it.

It reverberated through trees as if it belonged to the sound of light. As if inviting her to check what it was. Nonetheless, she accepted it. This could be a clue for something. If anything at all.

When she reached to a clear land, she blinked at what she found.

On top of a small cliff, water rushed down onto a clear pond. It reflected a long streak of sunlight. Rippling as it splashed over it, tapping like raindrops.

Deflating at the sight, she frowned and shook her head. Just water, apparently.

If the adventurer had a map for this place, she could navigate easier. Instead she had one for a place, which she originally planned to go but didn't. All she could rely on were her keen instincts and paths of this jungle.

She cracked her knuckles, taking a heavy breath. Her limbs turned heavy and her eyelids almost snapped shut. She shrugged her bag off her back, tossing it onto the ground.

Okay, maybe she should get some sleep before losing her mind.

As she prepared a makeshift bed, she stretched her arms, and yawned. This could be her little hide-out from predators. She pulled out a wide sleeping bag, settling it beside a tree. She should keep her bag with her. Or else, someone might steal her equipment.

No more equipment meant lesser chances of surviving.

By sunrise or midnight, she could try to search for food and water. She was going to be here for a while, so she should look after herself. This journey required energy, after all.

There had to be a road or some sort of place, where she could call for a transportation. Without any signal around, her phone proved to be useless.

As the sun started dipping low in the horizon, it's reflection disappeared from the pond. She moved into a sleeping bag, adjusting herself. She lifted her stare upwards, keeping her arms behind her head.

What a sight, she thought in awe.

If the adventurer actually managed to find a way out or get rescued, she would sleep afterwards. If she kept on going, she might gradually be free from this gruesome experience. She had her equipment, they could assist her with this predicament.

Until then, she might as well remain stuck in this compacted jungle.

***

[renee-writer]

Does Light Have a Sound?

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial 147th prompt Thank you @katblu42

Does light have a sound?

Colors do

Red is loud

While blush is soft

But light?

Does it speak?

I believe it does

The flash of a lightning bolt sounds like

The angry shout of a forgotten memory from childhood

The light that comes from fresh fallen snow

Sounds like a Christmas carol

The light in a lover’s eyes

Isn’t that a love song?

The sunset sounds like a peaceful prayer

And the sunrise that lights up the nursery where your newborn sleeps

Why that is the sound of your mom’s lullaby.

Yes. Light has a sound. You just have to listen.

[onceuponanaromantic]

like the baseless fabric of this vision

(Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial​‘s prompt: FFF147 The Sound of Light. This is a scene for my WIP A Match Made in Hell that I will probably rewrite later when I get to it. For now though, the context here is that Caihong is a snake shapeshifter who is the MC of A Match Made in Hell and this is his first and only encounter with Koschei, Feiying’s queerplatonic partner. In A Match Made in Hell, Caihong’s search for the entrance to Hell alongside Other Individuals is to attend Koschei and Feiying’s wedding. Now, context given, enjoy!)

           It was on one of the rare times that Caihong gets to the amphitheatre before Feiying did.

             He was drawn to the stage, slipping down the long staircases and dropping just before it. At this time in the late afternoon, the sunlight warmed the wood and the lacquer. There was a pool of warmth almost delicately framed like a spotlight just off the centre of the stage. As he approached it, he could see the dust motes trapped in the beam, floating as if it was glitter and not just dust.

             He let himself change form, before settling on a small grass snake, as he curled up in the sunlight. His tail lashed out once as he adjusted his position. From here, the rich red velvet of the curtains hung out, the bottoms grey from all the contact with the ground. The gilded ropes holding them by the side were stained brown at the edges, the fraying tassels hanging loose from the knot. Here, he can taste the air, the disinfectant and the washing liquid mingling with the scent of two separate woods: one of the piano at the corner and the other of the stage itself.

             “I’m glad I know it’s you or I would have had a heart attack.” Feiying said when she arrived, settling at the edge of the stage. Caihong raised his head lazily to flick his tongue teasingly at her. “Are you going to change to a form that has the vocal cords for English or should I just hiss at you?”

             He yawned, baring his small fangs before changing back into a human form.

             “What took you so long today?”

           Feiying shrugged. “There was some trouble with the notes today. I was needed to sort them out.”

             Her casual manner betrayed her. Feiying was never still, every sentence punctuated by gestures and movements. Caihong looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. She cringed, running her finger along the edge of the stage as he came to sit next to her.

             “They care as much for me as I am useful to them.” Her voice remained calm, almost easy, as if he could not hear the bitterness underlying it.

             He nudged her shoulder. Feiying folded her fingers into her uniform skirt, before sighing. “I’m used to it. I should be, given how many times it’s happened. But it’s just that I was,” she hesitated, snarling out the words after. “-- reminded that I am only wanted because I am useful.”

             She stood, shaking her head as if she could physically shake her irritation out of her. Her eyes settled on the piano, and she smiled. “It’s okay, I’m… meeting someone later.” She looked over at him.

             “Hey Caihong, have you ever heard what a piano sounds like?”

           “No?”

           “Do you want to?” She grinned wider.

           She didn’t wait for an answer, pulling out the piano chair and opening it. She frowned at the dust, running a finger over the lid a second time before she wiped down the keys once.

             Feiying settled her fingers on the keyboard, running them over the keys once before she kicked off her shoes and settled her feet on the pedals below.

             She launched into a waltz of some sort. He recognised the beat of it, but that’s about all he understood. Her fingers flew across the keys as chords blended. He got to his feet as it became joyful, the chords becoming more complex as the thud of her feet releasing and holding the pedal joined the piece.

             It repeated itself, rising like the sun. He spun on stage, humming along as it deepened. He thought he heard the door opening above, but he was too caught up in the song to do anything about it. The song felt like the time just between the monsoon rains started and the overbearing heat of the sun stopped, like dancing in the grass and throwing his head back while pretending he was someone of value. He felt the richness of it like the rains blowing in from across the sea, like the salt of the sea as it hung in the air just before the lightning struck.

             He felt an almost palpable loss when the song ended, the final chords dying away into the air.

             She turned to him, grinning. “Did you enjoy that?”

             She seemed to lose her confidence, shuddering in on herself as he hesitated after his nod, unsure of how to explain just how much he had felt. “I’m sorry, it’s been years since I played it and the beat was unsteady and I fumbled—”

             “Man’s eyes were made to look so let them gaze—” A voice floated in from the audience. Caihong turned sharply to see a young woman lounging in the first row of seats, her head tilted rakishly to the side.

             “I will not budge for no man’s pleasure.” Feiying finished, her face lighting up. She slid off the piano stool, striding towards the edge of the stage as the unfamiliar woman seemed to unfold herself smoothly from the seat. “Kos.”

             “Hello, Feiying.”

           Feiying seemed to light up as she and the woman stepped towards each other. “I thought you were only reaching later! How—I thought yesterday you said, over the mirror—"

           “I took care of business efficiently.” The woman said, flicking her hair easily off her shoulder. “And you should lock the door behind you if you pick a locked door.”

           Feiying seemed to just remember that he was there, her eyes finally darting away from the woman. “Caihong, this is my queerplatonic partner, Koschei. Kos, this is Caihong, a friend.”

             The woman seemed to size him up in one look, her gaze calculating. He felt the cold of it, as if she was seeing everything about him and every secret he had ever had. “You’re the snake shapeshifter?” Her voice was accented. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

             He stared at her, trying to place what felt wrong. Her accent was not from here, but he felt a small chill run down his spine. Something about the woman felt dangerous. And that’s when it clicked.

             “Are you a demon?”

           She bared her fangs in a smile, her pupils eerily black. “Why, how did you guess? Yes, I am.”

[kashacreates]

[#FFF147 The Sound of Light ]

@flashfictionfridayofficial

White flames licked at his lips and electricity arced on his breath. Ludwig gasped, choking back the Hymn struggling to burst from his throat. He slapped one hand across his lips, but it leaked through his many long fangs on the left side of his face. Sharp smoke smoldered from his nostrils and through his fingers.

Even with his ears flipped back, the voices swelled with the anguish of the fallen star. He pulled his head between his tensed shoulders, but it did nothing to deafen the song. With a cough, he sputtered another flash of light that scorched the floor between his forehooves. Ludwig could not speak to the medic; the Hymn would melt the translator into a useless glass lump. Without his blade, he could not channel it back into the usual quiet thrum inside- it lashed out; the weeping of a thousand homeless gods.

"OOH, it's like a hologun!" Foxy chirped, snapping photos of the smoking black swathe that cut through the testing grounds. She turned to him, a grin beamed across her face as she jotted down some notes about how the sparks and smoke also crackled from the fanged mouths across his lower torso and limbs. "But... there's nothing in the other readings that indicate this... your body temp is high, but not volcanic." As she muttered to herself-- without his translator, Common might as well be gibberish to him-- she flipped through the papers for her previous notes. "The chorus is weird. Your vocal chords aren't the right shape for that. You've got to have another voice box somewhere." She glanced up as she made her point and caught his good eye locked on her. His fur stood on end as he struggled to hold onto the blazing inferno that had built up. Ludwig scrunched his awkwardly long body to the point his lower half laid down like guilty dog.

A generous lock of his long, black mane hand fallen away from behind his ear and covered the scarred half of his face. Foxy walked around him, noting the blast of heat from the massive mouth on his side.

"Uh, here," she spoke up to avoid spooking him. She lifted her gloved hand to pull back his well-kept hair and spotted the fire boiling in his clouded blind eye. --That was another note for his file.-- She tucked his hair back behind his ear and rested her hand between his lower shoulder blades to let him know she was out of the way. She patted his back. "It's okay! Let it rip bro. No judgement."

He dropped his hands and let out the next refrain.

All shadows shrank behind them as the white-hot beam erupted from his mouth. Foxy raised her arm to protect her eyes, but it did little to keep her from squeezing them shut.

After a moment, the beam dimmed until it sputtered into a trickle. Ludwig gulped down air, thankful that they opted to return his voice. Foxy stared in silence until a sizeable chunk of Testing Grounds crumbled from the wall and crashed into the melted tile. "That. Was. Awesome!" She clapped his lower back and laughed. "Do you know how useful something that hot would be? Made on command?! We got to figure out how your body does it."