#rsinklingsstory — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #rsinklingsstory, aggregated by home.social.
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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.04.23 —What are some form conventions you disregard?
Remember, I got a C- in high school English. Other than learning manuscript submission format and how typical SF books are formatted,, I probably ignore plenty of form conventions I am not aware of. Anyone want to analyze my writer challenge game posts to clue me in? I'd be much obliged!1
=-=-=-=-=-=
1 Actually, please don't. 😋[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.04.23 —What are some form conventions you disregard?
Remember, I got a C- in high school English. Other than learning manuscript submission format and how typical SF books are formatted,, I probably ignore plenty of form conventions I am not aware of. Anyone want to analyze my writer challenge game posts to clue me in? I'd be much obliged!1
=-=-=-=-=-=
1 Actually, please don't. 😋[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.04.23 —What are some form conventions you disregard?
Remember, I got a C- in high school English. Other than learning manuscript submission format and how typical SF books are formatted,, I probably ignore plenty of form conventions I am not aware of. Anyone want to analyze my writer challenge game posts to clue me in? I'd be much obliged!1
=-=-=-=-=-=
1 Actually, please don't. 😋[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.04.23 —What are some form conventions you disregard?
Remember, I got a C- in high school English. Other than learning manuscript submission format and how typical SF books are formatted,, I probably ignore plenty of form conventions I am not aware of. Anyone want to analyze my writer challenge game posts to clue me in? I'd be much obliged!1
=-=-=-=-=-=
1 Actually, please don't. 😋[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.04.23 —What are some form conventions you disregard?
Remember, I got a C- in high school English. Other than learning manuscript submission format and how typical SF books are formatted,, I probably ignore plenty of form conventions I am not aware of. Anyone want to analyze my writer challenge game posts to clue me in? I'd be much obliged!1
=-=-=-=-=-=
1 Actually, please don't. 😋[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#ScribesAndMakers ∆ 2026.04.14 — What's something that's going well with your creativity this month?
Well, I'm creeping up on those little things that are keeping me from completing chapters, so that's good. Could be better. A lot better…
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
photographer chef cooking
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.04.14 —Do you consciously work with syllabic stress to create rhythm?
Pretty consistently. Yes. Yes, I do.
Pressed, I'll say I'm a writer. Given a moment to think on it, I'll say, "I'm an author," but that's not the gist. I am a prosaist. In my heart. It's what a poet is. For prose.
Words matter.
Storytelling definitely matters, but if the prose lacks music the story lacks muscle. I'm very conscious of syllabic stress; I choose my words carefully, first for meaning, then for how they sound. I revise for rhythmic reasons as well as for clarity. Punctuation is not a rule; it's an accelerator, a brake, maybe even a clutch. I use italics to push and to pull. It isn't my only tool. Alliteration, repetition of words and sentence structure, meter—I employ plenty of tricks.
Sometimes I even sound eloquent. I write my prose to be read aloud. Syllabic stress… it's kinda important.
Of course, sometimes a sentence doesn't work.
You don't get to read those. I scrap 'em. Then start all over again.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.03.06 —Is there a local writing community near you? Do you participate in it?
You can't get closer than Mastodon :mastodon: (🐘) on my very own computer!!! Too shy to look elsewhere…
I participate in:
#EroticMusings
#PennedPossibilites
#ScribesandMakers
#WordWeavers
#WritersCoffeeClub
#Writephant
#WriteverAs well as:
#WritingCommunity
#WritersOfMastodon[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#ScribesAndMakers ☼ 2026.02.27 — Splat?
Imagine a world where light can act as a liquid and you create a rainbow just before someone startles you? I wrote that. A scene in a three-story atrium. At a school. Splattering the person who did the startling (drenching them in a rainbow) and splattering the school banners hanging down in the atrium, the banisters, floors, and stairs. All the way down to the basement level. Splat! Plenty of students on said stairs, some with open lockers, all splattered—and a few humorless teachers who immediately give chase! It was a funny outbound scene employed to end an epilogue of a fairly heavy and serious novel.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
photographer chef cooking
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.02.24 — What’s your greatest challenge in fleshing out your setting?
Since I am careful to write about what I know or can imagine, the challenge is the in-writing. Despite how loquacious I think I am, I write rather concisely, skipping to the next action. Fleshing out the setting happens when I iterate during composition (reading/revising the pages before where I continue writing) or during revision. It's there that I change passive declarative passages to integrate description with action, to make the setting more palpable to the reader. Some detail pops up as I imagine or reimagine. It takes time. That's a challenge. Sometimes it increases the length of the passage; detouring away from the core action is also a challenge to overcome. Yet, when I read other's work, mine seems more concise, so I can't give a definitive answer to this one.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#ScribesAndMakers 2025.07.14 — Self-promotion day. Show us what you're proud of. Let's boost away.
What I'm proud of today, I'm going to title Savory Soup. It features both my writing and cooking skills, is 502 words, and provides a good insight into the character of one of my women MCs—from what may yet turn out to be a cozy (yet spicy) romance fantasy (it has dragons) novella. Best of all, the excerpt is posted here on Mastodon. It ought bring you a smile, so please give it a read.
Savory Soup: https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/114814396383680088
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#gender #fiction #writer #author photographer chef cooking
#romance #fantasy #sf #sff
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory -
Intro Post 2/2
I sometimes write "sample stories" directly. While hashtags may prompt me, I've also had ideas that want out and complain if I repress them. I use this as an excuse to write side stories or explore characters. Part of why I am on Mastodon is introduce myself as an author who is actually writing."Being chatty," is usually off-topic from writing. This includes politics, things I've read, photos, or discussing other art and creative endeavors I've discovered thanks to my followers and feeds. I make a point of promoting other author's books and publications when I see them by boosting. which I consider being both collegial and friendly. I boost especially creative artwork, also, and critique when I think my opinion might prove useful to the artist.
Below are spotlight sample stories and posts. There are plenty others that you can look for after you read these. I am writing two sets of stories right now. Inklings is a fantasy romance about a woman named Wintereyes who has befriended wolves. And squirrels. And dragons.... Hashtag: #RSInklingsStory. I am also writing a few stories in what I call the Reluctance series. Hashtag #RSReluctanceStory. Reluctant Accomplice is half-complete and I am starting a short story Reluctant Father right now. The Reluctance series is SF in a universe with a few extra natural laws (that are "reluctant") in which humans have been reengineered and interstellar travel is in the background. For reasons of not wanting to explain things to the Mastodon audience, I use terms like "magic" that aren't used the mainline stories. "Day angels" and other types of people are mentioned, but you'll have to pick up what they are from context, if you can, where it matters. I won't explain my jargon. After reading enough stories, you'll catch the drift. One main character, referred to as the "devil-girl" is a recurring character, as is the main antagonist (provisionally named "Director Rainy Days") who's the protagonist of her own stories.
Click and read:
#Mastodon #boostingIsSharing #writer #author #writing #fiction #sf #sciencefiction #fantasy #romance #writersOfMastodon #writingCommunitity #uspol #writersCoffeeClub #wordWeavers #pennedpossibilites
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#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 11 Nbr 29 — Acknowledgements
Checks serial. Oops. @taur10: Pardon the oversight, friend. Big thank you added.
If I accomplish returning to commercial publication, I will thank all that have helped me in print. Betas, people who've answered questions, people who've held this neurotic's hand, mayhap an artist or two. I will also thank you Mastodon folk, generically, citing those who authored or participated on the following hashtags, as well as my #author followers. You all helped me on my journey. (If you haven't looked at one or more of these tags, check them out!)
Procedural: Acknowledgements go in the beginning, unless they take up more than a half page.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
QUESTION: Will you acknowledge anyone for this work. Who? You don't need to be too specific.
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#fiction #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory -
Yep, I make a template file each month that includes all the monthly questions for the #WritersCoffeeClub and #WordWeavers prompts. Cut/paste/delete: It's how I answer reliably and quickly; I minimize the repetitive parts.
I copy the questions to the template from the text source posted with the questions (thank you folks for doing that!), or in the case of #Writever, I OCR the text. I add my introductory lines with double-clickable replacement text and my hashtags so I don't have to bother with each post. See the example below.
To answer a prompt, I duplicate the template file and start writing! For prompts like #PennedPossibilites, I have a template file that I never have to change. I copy past the canonical question directly from @floofpaldi's post.
Below an example of my headers and hashtags. Note I haven't revised the hashtags specifically for this post. Normally I delete the non-applicable ones. I'm being illustrative. Sorry!
EXAMPLE: (For those that don't see it, there is a right facing angle bracket before the first hashtag for my signature formatting flourish.)
#WritersCoffeeClub Ch 9 Nbr nn — Question
text
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#PennedPossibilities 211 — Where does your MC draw inspiration in life? What motivates them? Wintereyes in the Caves of Wood
Nature—it's all around you.
Imagine, for a moment if you will, that you are a little girl and you live in a small farmhouse near a forest. You like playing outside any chance you get. When you sit on a log, listening to the rustling of the leaves and watch the butterflies flit by, you feel the entire world of life speaking to your heart. Sometimes birds fly over, even land on your shoulder or head, and they chirp and sing, as if they know you understand them. You want to believe that you do, just as you are aware of a deer crashing through the underbrush and think her unhappy because of the stag she smells, just as you hear the mice skittering to their dens and think they whine about the red fox. You hear all the beasts as they pass by or watch warily.
You always have, but now you're 7 years old and the spirits pull you strongly.
One day the rain ends, and something tells you to look through the droplets spattering the glass and wetting the garden. The world is so verdantly green, uncounted spirits sing in delight that they are so incredibly alive. Your gaze lifts to the forest, to the brush and brambles.
To the left, about there...
You see...
Tawny eyes.
Your eyes meet. You know they've met. You feel your heart thump in growing anticipation. What is this? Like a friend you knew once long ago, you now recognize what you've forgotten, though you know not what it is. The beast takes a step, branches part, and you see a wolf. Grey ruff. Tan and brown fur. Pink scarred black nose.
You lift the casement window without hesitation, to see more clearly, to smell the rain freshened air and hear the dripping from the eaves. The wolf looks either way, sniffing, ready to bolt should the farmer who hates him be lurking, but he isn't. You know it is market day, and you are alone, practicing your numbers and letters. You lean out, waving, knowing your Mom and Da would say that's wrong.
The wolf trots into the clearing, then along the row of cabbages, careful not to touch, leaving prints in the mud. Not worried he might be tracked, but curious because he feels something. Within a minute he stands below the sill, looking up. You see a curved tongue for a moment, then he sniffs. You smell wet fur, and because he pants, you smell that last mouse he ate.
You can tell he feels what you felt. He sees a friend he knew once long ago and now recognizes that it is you he forgot.
"Wait," you say.
He tilts his head, eyes blinking, as you scramble to the drawer beside the tiny table that serves as your desk. You grab the tine of a deer antler you knew was special, grasping it and rushing back, only to see paws on the sill, the wolf studying your room, and you, frowning. He is /that/ big. He whines softly, tapping his teeth together.
You walk up, wondering if he might take fright. Might snarl. Might bite, but you know better. You don't stop until your nose touches his muddy wet one. It's cold. You've seen this greeting from very far away. You breathe the same warm moist air, and he blinks, not frightened at all!
You're not frightened, either, and your heart races with certainty.
Grasping the tine, you think, /We're friends and have always been. I so want us to speak again./
The antler tine warms and a silvery glow envelopes you both in the same warmth, that very warmth that kindred spirits feel when they meet again. The air sings with a chorus of half-heard voices of joy.
Friends once more.
The texture and fabric of a whine and a yip and clicking of teeth change. You understand he says, "The hunt has been good. The world is new once more and the air clean! Why do you hide from us in these caves of wood?"
-=-=-=-=-
When nature speaks to you, the spirits inspire you to know it better.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 RS.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#fiction #fantasy #sf #secondperson #2ndperson #presenttense #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory
#RSInklingsStory -
#PennedPossibilities 211 — Where does your MC draw inspiration in life? What motivates them? Wintereyes in the Caves of Wood
Nature—it's all around you.
Imagine, for a moment if you will, that you are a little girl and you live in a small farmhouse near a forest. You like playing outside any chance you get. When you sit on a log, listening to the rustling of the leaves and watch the butterflies flit by, you feel the entire world of life speaking to your heart. Sometimes birds fly over, even land on your shoulder or head, and they chirp and sing, as if they know you understand them. You want to believe that you do, just as you are aware of a deer crashing through the underbrush and think her unhappy because of the stag she smells, just as you hear the mice skittering to their dens and think they whine about the red fox. You hear all the beasts as they pass by or watch warily.
You always have, but now you're 7 years old and the spirits pull you strongly.
One day the rain ends, and something tells you to look through the droplets spattering the glass and wetting the garden. The world is so verdantly green, uncounted spirits sing in delight that they are so incredibly alive. Your gaze lifts to the forest, to the brush and brambles.
To the left, about there...
You see...
Tawny eyes.
Your eyes meet. You know they've met. You feel your heart thump in growing anticipation. What is this? Like a friend you knew once long ago, you now recognize what you've forgotten, though you know not what it is. The beast takes a step, branches part, and you see a wolf. Grey ruff. Tan and brown fur. Pink scarred black nose.
You lift the casement window without hesitation, to see more clearly, to smell the rain freshened air and hear the dripping from the eaves. The wolf looks either way, sniffing, ready to bolt should the farmer who hates him be lurking, but he isn't. You know it is market day, and you are alone, practicing your numbers and letters. You lean out, waving, knowing your Mom and Da would say that's wrong.
The wolf trots into the clearing, then along the row of cabbages, careful not to touch, leaving prints in the mud. Not worried he might be tracked, but curious because he feels something. Within a minute he stands below the sill, looking up. You see a curved tongue for a moment, then he sniffs. You smell wet fur, and because he pants, you smell that last mouse he ate.
You can tell he feels what you felt. He sees a friend he knew once long ago and now recognizes that it is you he forgot.
"Wait," you say.
He tilts his head, eyes blinking, as you scramble to the drawer beside the tiny table that serves as your desk. You grab the tine of a deer antler you knew was special, grasping it and rushing back, only to see paws on the sill, the wolf studying your room, and you, frowning. He is /that/ big. He whines softly, tapping his teeth together.
You walk up, wondering if he might take fright. Might snarl. Might bite, but you know better. You don't stop until your nose touches his muddy wet one. It's cold. You've seen this greeting from very far away. You breathe the same warm moist air, and he blinks, not frightened at all!
You're not frightened, either, and your heart races with certainty.
Grasping the tine, you think, /We're friends and have always been. I so want us to speak again./
The antler tine warms and a silvery glow envelopes you both in the same warmth, that very warmth that kindred spirits feel when they meet again. The air sings with a chorus of half-heard voices of joy.
Friends once more.
The texture and fabric of a whine and a yip and clicking of teeth change. You understand he says, "The hunt has been good. The world is new once more and the air clean! Why do you hide from us in these caves of wood?"
-=-=-=-=-
When nature speaks to you, the spirits inspire you to know it better.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 RS.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#fiction #fantasy #sf #secondperson #2ndperson #presenttense #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory
#RSInklingsStory -
#PennedPossibilities 211 — Where does your MC draw inspiration in life? What motivates them? Wintereyes in the Caves of Wood
Nature—it's all around you.
Imagine, for a moment if you will, that you are a little girl and you live in a small farmhouse near a forest. You like playing outside any chance you get. When you sit on a log, listening to the rustling of the leaves and watch the butterflies flit by, you feel the entire world of life speaking to your heart. Sometimes birds fly over, even land on your shoulder or head, and they chirp and sing, as if they know you understand them. You want to believe that you do, just as you are aware of a deer crashing through the underbrush and think her unhappy because of the stag she smells, just as you hear the mice skittering to their dens and think they whine about the red fox. You hear all the beasts as they pass by or watch warily.
You always have, but now you're 7 years old and the spirits pull you strongly.
One day the rain ends, and something tells you to look through the droplets spattering the glass and wetting the garden. The world is so verdantly green, uncounted spirits sing in delight that they are so incredibly alive. Your gaze lifts to the forest, to the brush and brambles.
To the left, about there...
You see...
Tawny eyes.
Your eyes meet. You know they've met. You feel your heart thump in growing anticipation. What is this? Like a friend you knew once long ago, you now recognize what you've forgotten, though you know not what it is. The beast takes a step, branches part, and you see a wolf. Grey ruff. Tan and brown fur. Pink scarred black nose.
You lift the casement window without hesitation, to see more clearly, to smell the rain freshened air and hear the dripping from the eaves. The wolf looks either way, sniffing, ready to bolt should the farmer who hates him be lurking, but he isn't. You know it is market day, and you are alone, practicing your numbers and letters. You lean out, waving, knowing your Mom and Da would say that's wrong.
The wolf trots into the clearing, then along the row of cabbages, careful not to touch, leaving prints in the mud. Not worried he might be tracked, but curious because he feels something. Within a minute he stands below the sill, looking up. You see a curved tongue for a moment, then he sniffs. You smell wet fur, and because he pants, you smell that last mouse he ate.
You can tell he feels what you felt. He sees a friend he knew once long ago and now recognizes that it is you he forgot.
"Wait," you say.
He tilts his head, eyes blinking, as you scramble to the drawer beside the tiny table that serves as your desk. You grab the tine of a deer antler you knew was special, grasping it and rushing back, only to see paws on the sill, the wolf studying your room, and you, frowning. He is /that/ big. He whines softly, tapping his teeth together.
You walk up, wondering if he might take fright. Might snarl. Might bite, but you know better. You don't stop until your nose touches his muddy wet one. It's cold. You've seen this greeting from very far away. You breathe the same warm moist air, and he blinks, not frightened at all!
You're not frightened, either, and your heart races with certainty.
Grasping the tine, you think, /We're friends and have always been. I so want us to speak again./
The antler tine warms and a silvery glow envelopes you both in the same warmth, that very warmth that kindred spirits feel when they meet again. The air sings with a chorus of half-heard voices of joy.
Friends once more.
The texture and fabric of a whine and a yip and clicking of teeth change. You understand he says, "The hunt has been good. The world is new once more and the air clean! Why do you hide from us in these caves of wood?"
-=-=-=-=-
When nature speaks to you, the spirits inspire you to know it better.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 RS.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#fiction #fantasy #sf #secondperson #2ndperson #presenttense #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory
#RSInklingsStory -
#PennedPossibilities 211 — Where does your MC draw inspiration in life? What motivates them? Wintereyes in the Caves of Wood
Nature—it's all around you.
Imagine, for a moment if you will, that you are a little girl and you live in a small farmhouse near a forest. You like playing outside any chance you get. When you sit on a log, listening to the rustling of the leaves and watch the butterflies flit by, you feel the entire world of life speaking to your heart. Sometimes birds fly over, even land on your shoulder or head, and they chirp and sing, as if they know you understand them. You want to believe that you do, just as you are aware of a deer crashing through the underbrush and think her unhappy because of the stag she smells, just as you hear the mice skittering to their dens and think they whine about the red fox. You hear all the beasts as they pass by or watch warily.
You always have, but now you're 7 years old and the spirits pull you strongly.
One day the rain ends, and something tells you to look through the droplets spattering the glass and wetting the garden. The world is so verdantly green, uncounted spirits sing in delight that they are so incredibly alive. Your gaze lifts to the forest, to the brush and brambles.
To the left, about there...
You see...
Tawny eyes.
Your eyes meet. You know they've met. You feel your heart thump in growing anticipation. What is this? Like a friend you knew once long ago, you now recognize what you've forgotten, though you know not what it is. The beast takes a step, branches part, and you see a wolf. Grey ruff. Tan and brown fur. Pink scarred black nose.
You lift the casement window without hesitation, to see more clearly, to smell the rain freshened air and hear the dripping from the eaves. The wolf looks either way, sniffing, ready to bolt should the farmer who hates him be lurking, but he isn't. You know it is market day, and you are alone, practicing your numbers and letters. You lean out, waving, knowing your Mom and Da would say that's wrong.
The wolf trots into the clearing, then along the row of cabbages, careful not to touch, leaving prints in the mud. Not worried he might be tracked, but curious because he feels something. Within a minute he stands below the sill, looking up. You see a curved tongue for a moment, then he sniffs. You smell wet fur, and because he pants, you smell that last mouse he ate.
You can tell he feels what you felt. He sees a friend he knew once long ago and now recognizes that it is you he forgot.
"Wait," you say.
He tilts his head, eyes blinking, as you scramble to the drawer beside the tiny table that serves as your desk. You grab the tine of a deer antler you knew was special, grasping it and rushing back, only to see paws on the sill, the wolf studying your room, and you, frowning. He is /that/ big. He whines softly, tapping his teeth together.
You walk up, wondering if he might take fright. Might snarl. Might bite, but you know better. You don't stop until your nose touches his muddy wet one. It's cold. You've seen this greeting from very far away. You breathe the same warm moist air, and he blinks, not frightened at all!
You're not frightened, either, and your heart races with certainty.
Grasping the tine, you think, /We're friends and have always been. I so want us to speak again./
The antler tine warms and a silvery glow envelopes you both in the same warmth, that very warmth that kindred spirits feel when they meet again. The air sings with a chorus of half-heard voices of joy.
Friends once more.
The texture and fabric of a whine and a yip and clicking of teeth change. You understand he says, "The hunt has been good. The world is new once more and the air clean! Why do you hide from us in these caves of wood?"
-=-=-=-=-
When nature speaks to you, the spirits inspire you to know it better.
[Author retains copyright (c)2024 RS.]
#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool
#fiction #fantasy #sf #secondperson #2ndperson #presenttense #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
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#PennedPossibilities 211 — Where does your MC draw inspiration in life? What motivates them? Wintereyes in the Caves of Wood
Nature—it's all around you.
Imagine, for a moment if you will, that you are a little girl and you live in a small farmhouse near a forest. You like playing outside any chance you get. When you sit on a log, listening to the rustling of the leaves and watch the butterflies flit by, you feel the entire world of life speaking to your heart. Sometimes birds fly over, even land on your shoulder or head, and they chirp and sing, as if they know you understand them. You want to believe that you do, just as you are aware of a deer crashing through the underbrush and think her unhappy because of the stag she smells, just as you hear the mice skittering to their dens and think they whine about the red fox. You hear all the beasts as they pass by or watch warily.
You always have, but now you're 7 years old and the spirits pull you strongly.
One day the rain ends, and something tells you to look through the droplets spattering the glass and wetting the garden. The world is so verdantly green, uncounted spirits sing in delight that they are so incredibly alive. Your gaze lifts to the forest, to the brush and brambles.
To the left, about there...
You see...
Tawny eyes.
Your eyes meet. You know they've met. You feel your heart thump in growing anticipation. What is this? Like a friend you knew once long ago, you now recognize what you've forgotten, though you know not what it is. The beast takes a step, branches part, and you see a wolf. Grey ruff. Tan and brown fur. Pink scarred black nose.
You lift the casement window without hesitation, to see more clearly, to smell the rain freshened air and hear the dripping from the eaves. The wolf looks either way, sniffing, ready to bolt should the farmer who hates him be lurking, but he isn't. You know it is market day, and you are alone, practicing your numbers and letters. You lean out, waving, knowing your Mom and Da would say that's wrong.
The wolf trots into the clearing, then along the row of cabbages, careful not to touch, leaving prints in the mud. Not worried he might be tracked, but curious because he feels something. Within a minute he stands below the sill, looking up. You see a curved tongue for a moment, then he sniffs. You smell wet fur, and because he pants, you smell that last mouse he ate.
You can tell he feels what you felt. He sees a friend he knew once long ago and now recognizes that it is you he forgot.
"Wait," you say.
He tilts his head, eyes blinking, as you scramble to the drawer beside the tiny table that serves as your desk. You grab the tine of a deer antler you knew was special, grasping it and rushing back, only to see paws on the sill, the wolf studying your room, and you, frowning. He is /that/ big. He whines softly, tapping his teeth together.
You walk up, wondering if he might take fright. Might snarl. Might bite, but you know better. You don't stop until your nose touches his muddy wet one. It's cold. You've seen this greeting from very far away. You breathe the same warm moist air, and he blinks, not frightened at all!
You're not frightened, either, and your heart races with certainty.
Grasping the tine, you think, /We're friends and have always been. I so want us to speak again./
The antler tine warms and a silvery glow envelopes you both in the same warmth, that very warmth that kindred spirits feel when they meet again. The air sings with a chorus of half-heard voices of joy.
Friends once more.
The texture and fabric of a whine and a yip and clicking of teeth change. You understand he says, "The hunt has been good. The world is new once more and the air clean! Why do you hide from us in these caves of wood?"
-=-=-=-=-
When nature speaks to you, the spirits inspire you to know it better.
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#PennedPossibilities 190 — Write about something your SC frequently forgets.
The unnamed secondary character from Inklings frequently forgets he's an exchange student in a foreign land. He's lived here for over a year and has gotten used to it. He has had a number of girlfriends, with benefits, were back home that was something unsafe to do. (Unsettled succession that could end up bloody, and did.) Women have more rules here, as does society, but are also more liberal and confusing about getting around them... again, with rules. Women find him exotic and attractive, but his intermittently falling back to his easy-going tropical island ways causes him to have few actual friendships.
When he makes a behavioral mistake with the MC of the story, it nearly gets him torn to bits.
Related SC background in #PennedPossiblities 188: https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/111724684686396261
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