The boy was acting strange: limbs jittery, threatened motion clinging to desperately still-not-still fingers. Isaac allowed himself to be led to his own desk.
“Sit,” demanded the boy, voice wavering slightly - the sign of hidden emotion.
Isaac obeyed. He felt like he was being interrogated.
Here sat the evidence: computer unlocked and staring back with its artificial light.
Here stood the accuser: a boy, determined, look of damning knowledge about to be revealed.
Here sat the accused: heart-thumping with anticipation.
The boy clicked on the browser. Youtube was open to a video which had already been watched. He clicked replay.
Familiar sounds escalated to a melody Isaac knew well.
Mark Pritchard - Beautiful People ft. Thom Yorke
They both sat quietly watching the ethereal music video. Isaac couldn’t help but wonder if this was how Thom felt: a figure walking along in a dream-like place. No, that sounded more like Isaac. Though the boy must’ve seen something of himself in it to want to show him this. It was important, somehow.
“I know what I want my name to be.”
“You do?” Isaac hadn’t expected this.
“Thom,” the boy said.
Was that a smile? A secret smile he had been holding in this whole time? It was infectious.
“Why not Mark?”
“Do I look like a Mark?”
No, Isaac agreed internally, not a Mark. Instinctually, he replayed the video, got up from his desk and lay across the thick pillow-like carpet. He closed his eyes, smiling as he heard the boy - Thom - join him. He let the music flow deep into his chest.
“Can you feel this?”
It was no longer just music. This was the sound of the boy becoming more than a nameless Apprentice of a magician in a world too far away. This was a turning point; he felt it writhing in his stomach. Potential. Things had just started to change from stasis to snowballing fate. Whatever had been about to begin since their first meeting had finally come.
I’m not sure whether this scene will make it into the second draft. I’ve rewritten it so many times but it just doesn’t seem right. Ah well. I’m really insecure. Sorry if this is terrible!
Please say if you want to be added to / taken from the October tag list :)
So I’ve decided to do both. I’ll be posting two original pieces each day through October!
The fictober prompts will be excerpts / character development / etc. for “In Which Fate Has A Speaking Role” because I’m still stuck on the second draft and hopefully this will inspire me!
The jotober prompts (inktober prompts just written) will be short poems (maybe some prose) because I’ve missed writing poetry!
Since I don’t want to spam my usual tag list consistently for a whole month, I thought I’d make an October tag list just for this.
Please like / reblog / message if you would like to be on this tag list!
If you’re also taking part in either, please add me to your tag lists too!
Marcia’s hands shook visibly even as they were fisted. The place of dreams surrounded her, feeling no less dream-like. She could be asleep - there was no way to know.
Beige-grey stone slabs stretched as far as the eye could see. The horizon met with the perfect blank sky but there was no way to know how far away it was. Maybe if she walked a few hundred meters she might find the end but then again, maybe not.
The sound of running water was her only company. It spat, gurgled and trickled through her ears. Marcia might have been drowning in it, breathing certainly was difficult in this foreign world.
With trained steps, she neared the fountains. Then stopped. She had lived this dream so many times and each time she had been forced forward. Marcia turned. If this was a dream, the rules had changed. She walked now with purpose not habit.
The stone below was slippery and it took her full concentration to keep from falling. Her mind briefly raced through the usual images of her dreams. Falling was a common theme. Marcia tried to take a deep breath to rid herself of that thought but her lungs barely expanded.
“Hello.”
She looked up, neck snapping at forceful speed.
“I am told I should say ‘hello’”
A figure stood too close for comfort. Their robes melded into the stone. A hood hid whatever face the creature might be wearing. This was new - a novel addition to her usual dream.
“I am fate.”
Marcia nodded though she still held firmly to her scepticism. Fate couldn’t be a - she looked at the foreign creature - thing.
“We need to talk.”
The figure’s voice was genderless and indescribable. It may have even been musical? Marcia thought of Isaac.
“How can I trust you?” She asked.
Fate smiled. Or at least, Marcia thought they might have smiled. The figure’s robe remained stone-still.
The ink-black eyes stared up. They were somehow innocent even as Elsie knew the creature had stolen part of herself, her ‘self’. Its body writhed into a more comfortable position nestled upon her lap. Currently, it wore the skin of a badger - fur perfectly white as it always was in whatever form it chose. The White Demon settled in position and closed its eyes.
Elsie thought about ‘essence’. She hadn’t even known it existed until she was told that she had none. Why did that matter? Why had her stomach continued to twist at the injustice of it when she had never had use of her essence in the first place. Of them all, she didn’t need it. She wasn’t ‘magical’ enough.
Maybe this sickening feeling was jealousy.
Absently, she brushed a hand through the course white fur of the creature she had been caring for. Without her attention, what would have become of it? What would have become of the others?
The nausea remained, but at least she could pride herself in the fact that although she may not be ‘magical’ like the others. She was still playing her part in all this.
The creature should take all it needs if it meant the others might not suffer.
¡Hola! Aquí les traigo mi contribución al #writober2018 #writober18 de @nestharon bajo el seudónimo AnyaJulchen en Wattpad. Hello, here's my contribution to the #writober of this year! You can find it in Wattpad under the username AnyaJulchen. #Escritor #Writer #anyajulchen #Venezuelan #venezuela #escritoravenezolana #wattpadespañol #wattpadlatino #Wattpad (at Caracas) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bojb8QYlFo0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=d7wcbao40iit
