A Sculpture of Smoke (Isles of Ysamaldri)
Winter Whumperland 2022 Day 5
Whumperland Prompt Masterlist
Prompt: Frosty the Snowman: Turned into Decoration, Trapped in a Blizzard, Self-Sacrifice, Comfort: Warm Kisses
Word Count: 1.1k words
This is original sci-fi/fantasy, so I have some made-up terms/titles/places.
Isles of Ysamaldri Masterlist
This is also a bit lighter on whump, as I already had this concept in mind and it happened to fit the prompt!
🙞 🙟 🙝 🙜
The two cats waited at the Isle of Portals, by the icy tree that led to the snow-covered Weylide Isle. One looked ready for the coming trip, with her long, white fur and feathered wings. Her blue eyes eagerly waited for the portal to open so she could go to her home away from home.
The other, however, had short, black fur, no wings, and the only odd thing about her was the amethyst set into her forehead. "I hope we aren't acting as messengers for long, Frost."
The white cat, Frost, smiled at the black cat. "Smoke, you know Shimmer and Luna requested us specifically. It's for the best that we're messengers right now. Besides, I miss hanging out with you."
Smoke gave a small smile back. "This is hardly us just 'hanging out' together."
The portal flickered for a moment, before growing into the familiar oval shape, with what looked like the night sky inside. A silvery-white dragon stepped out of the inky portal.
"You two ready?" she asked.
Frost nodded. "Lead the way, Shimmer."
The three made their way into the icy castle of Weylide Isle, carefully maneuvering their way up to Shimmer's personal chambers. They passed on the message to Shimmer and Luna, and took the messages that would go to Ishcyle Isle and Revak Feykro Isle through Frost and Smoke, respectively. Frost would go on foot – or, rather, by wing – so she left through a window, soaring toward her Weylide Isle residence before setting out in the morning. Smoke, on the other hand, would go back to Revak Feykro Isle directly through the portals.
"I left it open for a set amount of time," Shimmer said. "You should have enough time to get back to the Portal Isle."
Smoke nodded. "Thank you."
Smoke made her way quietly through the freezing castle, careful to keep in the shadows where she could. Before she knew it, she made it to the portal, which was still open, just as Shimmer had promised.
"So you're who came through," a voice said from behind.
Smoke whirled around, but she couldn't see anything. Something obscured her natural night vision. She started backing up toward the portal.
"Don't do that," another voice said, near the portal. "We don't want you to go quite yet."
"What do you want?" she said. "I was invited here, and now I'm leaving."
"Who invited you?" asked the first voice.
Smoke didn't respond. That's not something I can tell you.
"See, that's the problem," the first voice said. "Move, now."
The demand didn't make sense to Smoke right away, but then someone grabbed her from behind. Instinctively, Smoke used her ability to turn her entire body into smoke – everything except her amethyst, which stayed in place on her forehead. Also instinctively, she ran forward – away from her would-be captor, but also away from the portal.
"Grab the amethyst!"
Icy panic shot through Smoke. How do you know to go for that? She had to get out. She had to get back to Shimmer and Luna, or go with Frost, and wait it out—
A hand grabbed at her head from behind. It didn't do much but disperse her smoky body, but she halted and whirled around, her form growing into the smoky silhouette of a black leopard.
"What do you want with me?" Smoke demanded, her voice airy and not quite there, like wind. They couldn't hurt her while she was in her smoke form, but she couldn't do much more than try to asphyxiate them, either.
"You'd like to know, so you can report to Dark Wings and Azure Star."
She still couldn't see them. They knew some form of magic to obscure themselves, they had to. "What do you want with my amethyst?"
"To keep you incorporeal. Now."
The air got a kind of chill in it. While Smoke could feel it, in a detached sense, she didn't pay it any mind. She was on Weylide Isle, in the castle's basement. It being chilly here was like making the observation of seeing clouds on a rainy day.
But it grew icy, and the temperature just kept dropping.
Smoke lost feeling in her tail, and one of her back legs.
In alarm, she looked back – and saw the smoke that made up her body start to solidify. "What are you doing?" she demanded, her panic rising further. She's never, ever, been in danger in this form before.
"Have you heard of something created in the human realm, aerogel? It's a kind of insulation that's extremely light." A figure, a silhouette, walked forward, out of the obscuring magic. "It's made of frozen smoke. While you might not actually be a Gemstone, it would be beneficial to get you out of the way for now, and keep you from becoming the next Amethyst."
The cold, while unpleasant, had always been oddly comforting due to Frost's familiarity to the element. It always made Smoke think of her sister.
It creeped up on her, freezing up to her neck before she knew it. This wasn't the kind of cold that reminded her of Frost, or even Shimmer. This kind of cold was deadly. It wasn't something she could fight. What I wouldn't do to have Cinder here. But she wouldn't want her daughter here, in this situation where her assailants clearly knew who she was and how best to subdue her. And though she could become incorporeal, too, that has a danger all on its own.
"You're going to be a very nice decoration and gift for a friend. But don't worry, you won't know a thing about it."
I hope they realize I'm missing when I don't report to Azure.
Smoke's head froze over.
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"A gift for the headmistress," Stormfront, the heir to the Weylide Isle ice dragon throne, announced to Seaglare, the crystal dragon responsible for running the Ziixi Academy. "I was told that it's of Brivia and Weylide craftsmanship. Those with fire element specialties and those with ice came together to manipulate the smoke into a beautiful black leopard shape – the necklace, here," he lifted up the beautiful and large amethyst that hung on a necklace made of dark metal, with a sheen of blue on it. It hung on the neck of the sculpture. "This has the enchantment to keep it frozen for as long as it's on here. If it comes off, the smoke will likely dissipate within five to ten minutes, so we would recommend keeping it on."
The sculpture had no defined edges, but the shape was unmistakably feline. It wasn't so detailed as to show the eyes, or show the creatures muscles.
"It's wonderful, Prince Stormfront," Seaglare said. "I will keep it by the mantle. Come, would you care for a meal and refreshments?"
"I was hoping that you'd ask," Stormfront said.