My Disloyal Followers

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Dreams and DWP

I apologize for not posting my writing piece for yesterday, but I had written it after posting and I don't like posting twice in one day, because whatever post came first doesn't get much attention. So I'll just put it in now, along with today's piece and dream.

Dream:

  My family was walking around in a grocery store, when someone came up to us and gave us two Raging Water tickets, which was next door. (Raging Waters is a water park by the way.) I begged my dad a little and he finally agreed to buy two more tickets so we could go. We walked there, bought the tickets, and went in.
  Of course, we didn't have our bathing suits, so my mom and I both just got in the wave pool with our normal clothes on, my mom with a big floaty around her. But this just didn't seem right, so I got out and asked my dad if he could go home and get them. I also asked if he could bring along a friend. He never technically agreed to the second part, but it didn't matter because then I needed to go to the bathroom. So my dad led me to the mens bathroom, which turned out to be the only bathroom, so it was really for everyone instead of just men.
  Inside was actually really nice. It was more like an open locker room I guess. It had wooden benches set in a large rectangle and the floor in all of that was carpeted black. My dad led me and my brother to the end of it where the toilets were, and so I used the bathroom. While my brother was using it, a woman had also come with her two year old son, and she was talking to my brother about his name. He wasn't really responding to her. (I have no clue why she was able to talk to him while he was using the toilet, but whatever.)
  Later, we came back to the bathroom, this time with my mom, and that woman was still there. I think my brother was using the bathroom again, and while he was, the woman said to my mom, "The poor boy. Doesn't even recognize his own name," at which I think I wanted to punch her or something. My mom's mouth dropped, but I don't know if it was because she believed her and was shocked, or was shocked that's he was saying anything likenthatbin the first place.
  After that, my dad took us home, and I got a friend too. We came back, but by the time we got there, it was time for my friend to go. We all decided to leave with her, when a bunch of my dance friends showed up, ready to go swimming in the big pool. I decided to join them, feeling a bit left out that they hadn't invited me. I found myself some goggles, after asking around a lot and almost taking one which was supposedly the lifeguard's goggles. Then I jumped in and swam around with the rest of them, occasionally racing a few, which I always lost since I am the shortest. Also, before I got in the pool, I found myself unable to put any weight on my left leg. Not that it hurt or anything, but I just fell every time. Humph. Wonder what that meant.
  Just as I was rousing from my sleep, the last things I saw in my dream were pictures that I had taken of all of us, laughing at the ones which made people look weird.

Yesterday's DWP:
I decided to continue what I had originally started.

  "Yes, so it was a toy. I hope you weren't too rude to her?" Eldon asked him. When Nathan didn't say anything, just glared down at the floor, Eldon stood up. "What did you say to her? What is she doing now?"
  Nathan didn't look up as he muttered, "Crying. In that bedroom of hers." Eldon let out an irritated sigh as he stood up and shoved Nathan, leaving the room, Nathan glaring after him. "Well, that doesn't mean you have to be rude to me!"
  Eldon ignored him and knocked quietly on Leanne's door. He heard no answer other than the soft sobbing that was only too familiar. Slowly, he turned the handle, opened the door, and made his way to the corner where she always hid when Nathan upset her. He saw her curled up, against the wall, her face in her arms, and he put an arm on her shoulder.
  Leanne looked up. Startled to see her eldest brother there. "Oh. I didn't hear you," she croaked in between sniffs. She scooted over to make room for Eldon to sit next to her. Once he was comfortable on the ground, she leaned against him, waiting to be comforted. It wasn't that Leanne was upset about Nathan not caring, but rather the fact that he had taken one look at what she was holding before telling her off in his bossiest voice, not to mention insulting her before listening to what she had to say.
  "What was it this time?"

Ugh. That was horrible. A few parts didn't even make sense. Oh well.

Today's DWP:

  Furious, Nathan paced around in his room, hearing joyful voices from the next room. Eldon and Leanne had that perfect brother-sister relationship. Nathan didn't belong. He kept thinking that last part over agan in his mind, each step angrier than the previous, before finally yanking open the wardrobe, pulling out one of his coats, then slamming it shut. For a moment he stood there wildly, the edge of the coat crumpled and crushed in his fist, wondering what on earth he was doing. Then, without a second thought, he threw it on and ran out of the house, leaving he front door wide open.
  The night was colder than he had anticipated. Shivering, Nathan set out on a trail he often walked whenever he was mad at Eldon, which happened quite a lot. After walking a few paces, and scuffing an innocent pebble on the ground, he turned to go home, to find his way blocked by an orange tabby cat, holding a sword pointed up at him. Nathan rubbed his eyes frantically, but when he opened them again, the cat was still there.
  "Who-who are you?" Nathan stammered as the cat swung its sword around in neat strokes, clearly showing off.
  When the sword point was fixed again at Nathan's chest, the cat cleared its throat and spoke in a deep voice, that of a grown man's, "I am Billi. And you, sir, are to come with me."


Yep, that is it. Tell me what you think! Should I keep doing the DWP's and dreams or should I give them up and try something else?

Friday, December 28, 2012

Dreams

You know how I said you probably won't here many dreams from me? Well I actually got my dream from last night written down, surprisingly. Here goes. And excuse the horrid writing, because I wrote this in the morning the moment I woke up before I could forget it.


  I got in the car and pulled on a gray cardigan over my yellow dress. The car started, and my dad was driving it. I think we were driving to school, but I didn't really recognize the roads, not that I cared.
  "Oh no," I said. "I'm wearing this dress. Normally I don't like wearing dresses to school."
  He gave me am exasperated look.
  "It doesn't matter. Oh well," I said, before he could say anything. "Besides, it's not as if I haven't worn this to school before." That, was true. I had worn it only just last Friday only with my leather jacket on top. I prefer that jacket with this dress instead of the cardigan, but too late now.
  The car stopped outside a normal looking house, other than the door, which was in the shape of a circle, was open, and there was a green screen door instead. "Is this where you need to go?" my dad asked.
  "Yes," I replied, just as the car doors unlocked. "I'm going to Bilbo's place for tea." I saw no one behind the screen, so I asked, a little worriedly, "I hope this is the right house." Because, usually at parties, there is always someone in every corner of the house.
  "Yes it is." As my dad replied, I remembered again that the door was open, and noticed shoes and coats outside.
  "Okay." I got out of the car. I walked up to the house, opened the door, and hesitantly walked inside.
  It was a large, open room, shaped with many walls, bookshelves on some, open doorways on others.  In one corner, there was a table, with Bilbo himself working in something. He greeted me, and I greeted back, before noticing a large party table and bustling people through one of the open doorways. I went there, and found myself surrounded by many faces, about half of them familiar. The normal family friends, the neighbors, the usual little kid from every family. I took my spot in the last seat available.
  They served rice and a few Indian foods that I normally eat, which I didn't find strange at all, so I ate it. I lifted the skirt of my dress a little, which was now a princessish blue one, toad just myself on my seat a little better. Then, just as someone walked behind me, I. Somehow lost my balance and fell backwards from the chair, which was a little more like a stool.
  After that, there was some weird narrator voice talking about how that was a life lesson or something, I had no clue what it was talking about.

And yeah, that's it. Then there was this huge bang somewhere in our house, which woke up up pretty early. None of us could figure out what had caused it. I think it was the people breaking in to steal me off for some epic adventure like in all the stories, but they must have left after making such a racket. Guess I don't get my adventure.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Daily Writing Piece

If my intent was unclear based on the title, I have decided that every day I will write something in my notebook, some small piece of writing and post it on here. Each one will only be the length of a page in an ordinary composition notebook, so brace yourself for some short writing. Also, on days that I have dreams that I manage to remember and write down, I will also post it on here, no matter how stupid it is. Of course, I hardly ever remember my dreams, so don't expect much of that.

Anyway, here is what I wrote today, with no editing whatsoever.

  Drumming his fingers impatiently on the wooden part of the armrest underneath them, Nathan sighed and rolled his eyes. His younger sister had commanded him to wait there so she could show him something. "Come on Leanne, hurry up! I want to go to bed!"
  "Oh, do shut up please. Some of us are trying to sleep." Nathan rolled his eyes again at Eldon, his older brother who always acted like his dad. Eldon returned the same glance and marched back into his room, shutting the door pointedly behind him. He hoped Nathan would quit making such a racket about silly things. Nathan was only a year older than Leanne, but always iced to prove he was more mature, but only succeeding in looking stupid. How hard was it to wait a few extra minutes?
  A moment later, he heard quiet voices from outside, Nathan's slowly getting loud and more impatient by the second. Next, there seemed to be an explosion and a flurry of footsteps before his door was thrown open, Nathan marching into the room he shared with Eldon, looking flustered.
  "What is it this time?" Eldon asked, exasperated. Nathan threw him a dirty glance before slamming the door and fuming down onto his own bed.
  "A toy!" he exclaimed. "A toy!"



And well, that is all I had room for. I was cringing as I was typing this, noticing so many places to improve and describe more. This is horrible. I think I forgot to mention I can't write on paper, it's always terrible. Which is part of the reason why I'm doing this.

Winterlicious Tag

Thank you Audrey for tagging me in this. XP

I never really do tags or blog awards but I want to post and I have nothing to post about so why not?

Favorite Winter Movie: Um...I don't really watch winter movies. But a movie that I really like that has something to do with winter, and Christmas, would be, of course, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I know, shocker that I'll put this movie, right?

Favorite Winter Holiday: Would my birthday count? It's in winter. As a matter of fact it is in only approximately another two weeks. It is on the 8th of January. But I guess I like Christmas a bit more than my birthday, except I get a lot more gifts then.

Favorite Winter Drink: Mmm......icy cold water. No matter what the weather, cold water will always be my favorite thing to drink.

Favorite Winter Accessory: Er, a scarf? How about my blue snowman scarf? Not much of an accessory, but still. Well I would like any snowflake related jewelry too. Cause I love jewelry and I love snow. Unfortunately I don't have any.

One thing on your Christmas List: Well I had this on list of things that I want, but not on a list necessarily called Christmas list. I had leather jacket down and guess what I got! A leather jacket! Yay.

One thing you regret: I can't really think of anything, no. Well, actually that isn't true. What I really really regret is not posting here. I'm not just saying that, I really wish I hadn't poofed from the existence of the blogging world.

Five Pictures that have to do with Winter or Random:

 A close-up of one ornament on my Christmas tree
 The Nutcrackers I've gotten from shows I've performed in or been to
Other Nutcrackers....
 Me en pointe as a snowflake. I know, my feet are horrible. I need to work on my pointe work.
Just a little picture I found online, which I think is super pretty.


Tag four others: Now this is the difficult part....

flameshadow @ flameshadow's blog
silver_at_flight @ Silver Breeze

Haha sorry, all four of you, for bestowing upon you the horrors of making a post for something like this. XP

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas

First things first. If you missed my post about how I came back, go one post down and see A Collage of News.

Second things second. I decided there is no point in saying I'm back and then never posting after that, so here goes, even though I have nothing to post about. I had thought I would try writing a Christmas story again this year, but I remembered how miserably I fail at realistic fiction, so I decided, nothing wrong with making it a bit more exciting, right?

(Warning: May contain Narnia influence.)

  Eldon sighed, leaning back in the large armchair that he was occupying as he rapped his knuckles against the bare wooden handle exposed at the from of the arm rest. Rolling his eyes slightly to himself, he called out impatiently, "Will you hurry up, Lacey? I know you're a girl, but surely you can be quicker than this." He struggled to keep his lips from twisting into a smile as his younger sister appeared in the doorway, cheeks flushed and looking flustered from being hurried by him. Clearly, she saw the smile, because she stormed past him as he stood up, thrusting a coat at him so hard he fell back into his chair. "Hey!" he protested. "I'm doing this for you, you know." He threw her an injured and accusing glance. While Lacey was only a year younger than him, Eldon often acted much more superior to her.
  "Maybe. But perhaps you should act your own age sometime and admit that you want to go out and buy Christmas presents much more than I do," she retorted, though not angrily. It was difficult to get Lacey actually angry. You could only get her melancholy, and get her to cry in a corner of the house all on her own, making you feel sorry for her. Although Eldon sometimes felt guilty about it, he was an expert at upsetting her.
  Shoving on his coat roughly, and bending down to make sure his boots were tied properly, he followed her out of the door, shrugging. "That isn't true. Christmas is only for little kids. Maybe you should learn to grow up." He reached out to close the door behind him, but only after hearing the stern voice of his older brother screaming down from his study,
  "Stop bickering, you two!"
  Shaking his head, locking the door, and turning around, Eldon was astonished to see Lacey smirking at him, her earlier bad temper completely gone. Oh no, he thought miserably. This is when it becomes war. "He was talking about you," Lacey accused, her smirk broadening into a winning grin.
  "Shut up," Eldon muttered, shoving her enough to make her stumble, but lightly enough so that she would not fall. Then he followed her down the stone path as she led him to the store she wished to shop at first.
  She was just paying when the unexpected happened. Not just some silly little random thing, but a large event. One that changed their lives forever. The ground started vibrating immensely, and objects were dropping to the floor, shattering into miniature glass pieces. Eldon grabbed Lacey and pulled her down under the counter, feeling the shake grow stronger each second, even more things getting destroyed. Pulling her closer toward him, he peered out from the side of the counter to see more destruction. He jerked his head back in not a moment too soon; if he had stayed even another half of a second, a large chunk of the ceiling would have squashed his face, and likely killed him. Shuddering, he wrapped his arms around Lacey, who was trembling, and waited the earthquake out.
  Still, the shaking did not subside. It grew stronger and stronger, until he could hardly see anything, it was all moving so fast. Eldon began to wonder why the counter had not collapsed, and also only just realizing that this was no ordinary earthquake. He kept his eyes squeezed shut, childishly afraid to look out at what was happening. Then all of a sudden, it all stopped. Eldon opened his eyes slowly, then shut them again at a blast of sunshine that hit his eye. It was all well until he realized that there should be no sunshine in a corner of a store on a cloudy day. He opened them again, just as Lacey pulled away from him, also blinking in her surroundings.
  For one, the counter was no longer a counter. It seemed to be some sort of shallow cave in a tree. Hesitantly, Eldon uncurled himself and stepped out of the cave, nearly collapsing with shock, for they were no longer in a little store, but in a large forest, standing face to face with an extra large squirrel.
  "Hello!" the squirrel greeted energetically, sniffing around and leaning close to Eldon to figure out who he was.
  To anyone else, this would have been frightening, and a good reason to run back into the cave or somewhere else, or even faint, but Eldon stayed perfectly calm. "Lacey! Look where we are!" he called out to her, happily, a grin breaking out onto his face, a true smile that he had not felt since three years. "Hullo, Mouse!" he replied just as enthusiastically. The squirrel broke into a low bow at the mention of his name, then stood up again, looking around, then stumbling backwards as Lacy slammed into him, her arms wrapped tight around him in a hug.
  "Oh, Mouse, I've missed you so much! It's been three years since I last saw you and everyone else here! How have things been?" After her snuggle with the squirrel, Lacey got up, allowing Mouse to recover himself too. Brushing the dirt off his fur, Mouse bowed to Lacey also before speaking.
  "We have been great," he told her in a high pitched, happy squeak. During this reunion, even Eldon couldn't resolve himself to act more dignified, instead grinning madly and walking along Mouse. He could see the same joy reflected on Lacey's face also as the three of them walked along a dirt path, one on each side of the giant squirrel. "We missed you too. Nothing has been as wonderful as when you were around. Why must you leave us so every time?"
  Lacey cuddled closer to Mouse just as they reached the outskirts of a clearing, not replying. In the end, Eldon felt as though he should respond to their squirrel friend, saying, "Well we do have lives there too. We can't stay here forever." Eldon had a feeling he had been too dry with him, but he couldn't help himself. The excitement at finding themselves there had begun to wear off, and he found himself slightly irritated, wondering why they could have come there again.
  They shoved their way through some bushes, and found themselves in the clearing, with numerous animals of all sizes and other creatures standing in a circle. "Seems like everyone but us knew we were coming," Eldon muttered under his breath.
  Mouse must have heard him, because he replied in a guilty voice, "We got a sign a few hours ago, indicating when and where. I was sent to come collect you." Eldon didn't respond, just took a step forward and bowed, old habits from years earlier coming back to him. He ruled these people, he should at least act royal. He was vaguely aware of Lacey dipping into a curtsy beside him, just before all of the animals bowed in return to them.
  "So," Eldon began, "what are we here for? Any battles, any danger, anything?"
  A few in the crowd chuckled, which led Eldon to believe nothing of the sort was true. Mouse stepped forward past Eldon and Lacey, and turned around. "No, nothing of the sort. You just came here so we could wish you a Merry Christmas!"


Okay, so the most pointless story I've ever written, I know. I was going to have a whole action scene and etc, and but I never got the chance to write it, because we've been busy for a while. So I'll just leave it at that, and maybe next year I'll give you guys a real story. Still looking for ideas!

Oh, and also, you must listen to these four tracks from the Narnia soundtracks. They are too pretty to not share with you all. And also, LWW is my acronym for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

The Blitz, 1940 - LWW
A Narnia Lullaby - LWW
Prince Caspian Flees - Prince Caspian
Raid on the Castle - Prince Caspian

Friday, December 21, 2012

A Collage of News

At exactly a month and nine days since my last post, I suppose I cannot really expect anyone to look at my blog anymore, which I do regret, but I did have excuse for at least half of that time period during which I disappeared. The main point is, sadly, no time. I miss the days when I would be free, able to do anything I wanted. I could actually come here. But now, I have gotten so used to being busy, that when I have time to twirl around my fingers, the strands of it always manage to escape me, by diluting my brain with the fuzzy discomfort of depression.

Basically, I cannot survive without busying myself anymore.

This last week, we took our finals from Tuesday through Thursday. Naturally, the week before that was spent into studying. Oh, I don't study. But teachers, they are so clever, they assign you homework that makes you study. I should have known how they became teachers in the first place. Their cunning minds. Oh, well I'm joking of course. I am not one of those people who disrespect their teachers, and I mean no disrespect to those who do either. The only reason I don't study is because everything comes naturally to me. If it doesn't, well then I will make sure I get it.

However, that is not the point of this. What were we talking about again? Oh yes, my disappearance to Narnia. (Will explain the reference later.)

And before finals, what was I doing? Nutcracker. Our shows were on the 1st, 2nd, 8th, and 9th. and so before that our rehearsals got intense, and obviously while the shows were going on I didn't have much time to come here, because I was desperately just trying to do my homework. 

You might think I was miserable during these times of stress, but being me, I enjoyed it just too much.

Well, that is all. I did nothing more during my disappearance to Narnia.

As you may have guessed, I love Narnia now. It is, officially, my latest obsession. And those of you who know me well, this isn't good news. That means it will be on my mind constantly, and I will reference it constantly, and I will be in love with one character constantly and I will make a new wallpaper for them. Curious to know who this person is? Take a guess before I name him.





Edmund. Surprised or not surprised? Most people find it shocking that I like Edmund, but really people, why not? He is totally awesome.

But enough about just Edmund. Let's talk of all of Narnia. Who here is a Narnia fan? Have you read the books or watched the movies or both? Talk to me about this, I will listen to anything related to Narnia, because I am madly obsessed with it. You can trust me to be a good listener!

And to finish this up, I want to write something, but I don't know what. Any ideas for an "I'm Back!" writing piece?

Monday, November 12, 2012

Darkness Among the Stars



I feel really bad because I haven't shared anything with you guys, so here is the very first scene my story opens up to. Enjoy! :D



A snarl from the room next to his made Mizar jump, crumpling the delicately laid out tribal print rug under him. His back cracked as he bent down to flatten it out, thoughts of panic squirming through his head for what his punishment would be if his mother or father found out. It seemed so trivial, a fold in the carpet. Why should it be equal to a beating? But of course, his family prided themselves too much. Everything had to be perfect, so that they could act snooty in front of “lesser” households.
Mizar held his breath, his gaze focused on the dark, ebony door in front of him. When the sound of receding footsteps told him he had a few more minutes of freedom, he relaxed and leaned against the side of the brick fireplace, taking a few moments to act like a normal nine year old boy and not mature years beyond his age. He slouched, a feeling that felt so giddy, so rebellious. Ever since he could remember, he had been taught how to stand, how to walk, how to act stiff and cold, and nasty to those who were not of as high a reputation. And of course how to be polite to build his own reputation. Mizar did not see the point of any of it.
The flames licking the wall hungrily warmed his backside as he allowed it to support him for once. Closing his eyes, he slouched down even further, feeling giddiness rise up his throat, hot as a volcano about to spew lava. He was just resisting the temptation to burst of laughing, when the sound of a slamming door jerked him back to the present. His mother stood before him, glowering with her eyes, although the rest of her body stayed as stiff as ever. Her silvery blond hair fell smoothly down her back, and her skin remained as pale as ever, her light green eyes looking ready to lash out at him. The black corset-like dress wound around her tightly, looking as if she should choke any moment. At least I’m not a girl, Mizar thought idiotically. His younger sister, although only six, was always made to dress like her mother. He stood silently, his arms folded behind his back, and his posture as stiff as her own as he watched her penetrating eyes survey the room she barged into, sweeping across the hastily mended carpet and finally resting back on Mizar. He felt a sudden desire to inspect his formal black attire rather than to meet her gaze. Still, the urge remained unattended to, for if he did so, he would be in much larger trouble. Instead, he gazed steadily back at her, studying the flecks of black intertwined in the grass of her eyes.
For a few moments, his life stood, not shockingly, uneventful. Finally, her icy, steel voice raked his skin sharply in the calm of one who had been giving a sleeping curse. “Mizar,” she pronounced, regarding him as if he were a stray dust bunny. “Would you do me the honor of explaining what you were just doing?” With each word she spat, a silent anger grew stronger and stronger, until Mizar found, that despite his best efforts, he could not hold her gaze any longer.
Her quiet footsteps approached him, warning him of what was coming next. He glanced up at her face, filled with fury, and saw her eyes flick around to make sure no one was watching before she gifted him one sharp kick in the gut. Mizar let out a gasp against his will, nearly doubling over in pain but managing to hold himself upright. He could not stop the shaking that resulted from the effort of holding still. “How many times,” she hissed softly, “must I explain this to you? You must always remain still and silent, strong and showing no sign of weakness. You are the eldest of the family, you are the heir. You will be the one who carries on the name of family Capella!” Strangely, even though her voice had risen so high, her body language still remained calm and still. The only indication of her fury, other than her voice, was the way her eyes kept flicking around.
“Sorry,” he muttered, his eyes surfing the dark wooden floor below him. Almost instantly, he could swear he heard the intensity of her anger increase. He did not dare look at her, instead he just examined the thin layer of dust that rested speckled in the corner, and the bright pictures of the family contrasting with the dirt brown wall behind it. Oddly enough though, he did not feel the familiar whiplash of her bony hand lashing down to meet his pale, callused skin. Looking up, he noticed his mother had receded from the room so quietly he hadn’t heard her leave. Mizar fought with himself to keep him from dissecting joy from it, knowing fully well that she had only left because she felt the need for a more severe punishment than what she herself could do. He drew a ragged breath, pain still shooting up his abdomen through his chest, and waited there, unmoving. She would be back for sure, and if she found out he moved, he would be in much, much larger trouble. Instead, he memorized the patterns on the furniture in front of him, and the statues that towered above him on small ledge above the fireplace. If one of them fell into the fire....
Stop it, he told himself, nearly panicking as the largest, most gruesome one began to wobble under his gaze. He quickly averted his eyes and stared at the floor again, where he could not cause too much destruction just by thinking. It had always seemed like a sort of curse to him, but his parents had explained to him that most sorcerers are born with a natural power like that. Apparently his power was mind control, although he found the idea boring. He wanted to learn the ways of a shape-shifter, choose an animal and be able to transform into it any time. It would be the most amazing feeling in the world.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

NaNoWriMo

I wasn't planning on making a whole post about this, but I keep discovering new friends who are doing it that I figured this would be easier. Like I mentioned earlier, I won't be posting often because I'm doing it and seriously this year because I really want to win, but there isn't any rule saying i can't do it with you guys. So if you are doing NaNoWriMo too, then tell me your username so I can add you as a buddy! If you aren't comfortable with saying it here, you can email me at: natasha.cats@yahoo.com. Yup.

I'll tell you my username too, although let me warn you. Don't laugh. I made this a while ago when I couldn't decide what I wanted to go by, and now I;m stuck with the name since they don't let you change it without deleting your account. So just bear with me. My username is: Nat Snowdrop Petal Fira Seth Anakin.  Yeah...remember, don't laugh. Well maybe you can a little. But I don't appreciate it.

Anyway, my story is called Darkness Among the Stars, so if you add me as a buddy I might let you see what I'm writing. Maybe. So yeah. Add me! Or let me add you!

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween Fun

I am probably, the biggest idiot in the world right now. At 4 o'clock, merely two hours from when I meet up with my friends to go trick-or-treating, I still have no idea whatsoever what I want to dress up as. How lame is that?

So now I am desperately going through my closet finding something that could suffice. I would ask for ideas, but I doubt I'd get a good response in time.

So what are you all for Halloween this year? Comment your costumes...I should probably start brainstorming for what I should be next year before I end up in the same position again. Right?

Anyway, who are all my Harry Potter fans out there? Honestly, I was never a huge fan, but it is a good series, and I enjoyed it. But a friend recently recommended to me a fan fiction, which in my opinion is good enough to be the real story. It takes place in the Marauder times, focusing on the characters, Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter. Their importance in the story is in that order, from greatest to least. It's very long, twenty-six parts and about twenty pages in google documents each. But despite that, it is worth the read. Ever heard of The Shoebox Project? You can just search it online and you should be able to find the pdf. In case you can't, I could always share it with you on google docs, as I have all of it there.

Ever since I read it, I have been on a Sirius obsession, and because of it I am now rereading Harry Potter. I started last Sunday with the first book, I am now currently in the middle of the fourth.

Anyway, I should probably be getting ready now. So, have a Happy Halloween! Try not to steal too many candies from little kids!

Monday, October 29, 2012

At a Loss for Words

I honestly do not know what to put here. Time flies too quickly, and not just when you're having fun. How could I go a month without posting here even once, without even checking the state of my beloved blog? Not even once! This is shameful even, humiliating. I keep making false promises that I will come here, I will post, I will write. And what happens? I don't even open the site for a month. Embarrassing.

I suppose the time has to come to end the false promises. I cannot promise you anything. I will most definitely try to post and write, but the past month, or more actually, my mind has been painfully uncreative, a fact that truly bothers me. And school...school has been tough. Teacher assign a lot of homework, and I hear this year is the easiest and and starting sophomore year, things get really tough. Yay. Pleasant thought, right?

Another reason for my not posting is that every moment I'm not doing schoolwork or sleeping, I am at dance. I still have my at least two hours a day going on, not to mention I TA for younger kids' classes now. And whenever I'm not doing those, I'm out in a slightly less light-polluted area, with our telescope studying the stars, constellations, and Messier objects. Astronomy is fascinating, I'm a total nerd when it comes to it. If anything is astronomy related, I want to learn it. Did you know that in globular clusters, the stars don't move in elliptical orbits? Instead, they move like a needle pricking something - in a straight line and directly back. Like I said, fascinating.

And I would start writing and posting now, but NaNoWriMo starts up again in two days. I really really want to win at least once, so I probably will not be putting any attention at all into this blog for the next month. But I do have a widget up, so you can always see my word count and how far I am into the seemingly endless voyage of 50,000 words.

That's all I have for now, I've been trying to think up ideas on writing, and who knows, maybe I'll put in a little treat every now and then. My deepest apologies!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Mark of Athena Update

Well, I finished Mark of Athena yesterday afternoon. I won't post spoilers here, because the words I saw in that book...just read it yourself. I cannot spoil this for you. All I will say, is that since yesterday I have been feeling broken inside, which of course is an exaggeration, but is nonetheless true. A year I waited for this book, and all throughout it I had been happy because everything was going according to my thoughts. Just the right amount of fighting and injuries, which is a little more than most people prefer, the perfect measure of emotions, and the tension leading up to the end of the book.

Then came the end. I stopped breathing for a moment when I turned the page and all I saw was the glossary. How could it just end there? All authors love to torture their readers, but nothing has ever been as shocking as this. I declare Rick Riordan plain evil.

If it was not obvious from what I have been saying, I am extremely unhappy about the end of Mark of Athena. No, don't assume that it had a sad ending or a painful ending. If that happened I would be leaping for joy because I love those types of endings. No, what I care again is the heart-stopping cliffhanger. Son of Neptune left us a cliffhanger, which annoyed me so much, but this, this was a million times worse. Honestly, I'm still not recovered from finishing this book.

Life Lesson: Do not get involved in a series before all the books are out. Chances are, it will take approximately a year, if not more, for a book to be released, and you'll be pulling your hair out for twelve months just waiting for what happens next.




Monday, October 1, 2012

Mark of Athena

Words cannot describe how ecstatic I am right now. The Son of Neptune came was released last year in October, and being the obsessive person I am, I finished it on the day it came out of course. I have been waiting for this moment ever since.

It has been a whole year that most of us obsessed fans have been anticipating, and finally it is here. The Mark of Athena is released tomorrow, at exactly 12 o'clock. I know that sounds a bit strange, like why would they even care about the hour? But it becomes available to the public at exactly midnight. And because I am a person who needs books right away and who reads way too much, I own a nook, and I've already preordered it. At 12 tonight, I will own my own copy of Mark of Athena!

I can't wait. I'm tempted to stay up late just so I can start reading it, but that would be disastrous, considering I'm already behind on sleep. And for my high school, it actually matters unfortunately. So even if I do stay up, I'll have to sleep right away anyway. No, I will most likely just wake up early tomorrow morning and start reading and get late for school, resulting in detention from my French teacher, which is alright considering the circumstances. It is totally worth it.

Anyway, that is all I wanted to say, a book I've been waiting for for a year is coming out tonight. And those who are reading the series who never keep track of release dates (like me) can be enlightened by my amazing news worth a whole post about.

So...yay! :D

Sunday, September 30, 2012

I was bored, what do you do?

  My heart thudded furiously as I skirted around the corner of the street, my worn out shoes sliding on the wet cement. Wrapping my arm around the lamp pole that towered above me, I regained my balance and continues pounding down the road to the edge of the woods that awaited me. I could hear the clapping of footsteps behind me, and from the unmistakable sound of steel I realized they had taken their swords out. My best chance was to escape into the undergrowth and hope they don't bother to follow me there.
  Just when I thought I had reached the safety of perilous trees, they came out from in front of me and shoved their blades toward me, forcing me to a skidding halt if I didn't fancy being skewered. Without a moment to breathe, I was surrounded in a circle of guards, the streetlamp's yellow light casting an eerie glow on their faces. "Lay down you weapons," the tallest one commanded, taking a step forward.
  Come on, think fast, think fast, I muttered in my head, my gaze darting in between the guards and the forest that stood only a few meters away. It was not like I had any weapons to give up, save an old rusty pocket knife I had scavenged a few days earlier. Quickly, I slid the knife into my sleeve then lifted my arms, ignoring the sharp pain on my skin as the blade slid down my sleeve until it rested against my shoulder. Now if matters went badly, I at least had some sort of defense.
  "I have no weapons," I gasped, recovering my breath after holding it for so long. "I don't understand what you want me for. I'm merely a beggar, whose home is in the depths of them trees over there." I nodded my head to the thicket that awaited me at the edge of the woods with another desperate glance."
  The guard who had spoken smiled, although it was one of contempt. "I might have believed you if your right arm hadn't just begun to bleed profusely." He made a disapproving clicking sound as he turned sideways from me. Then his back greeted me. "Seize him." Before anyone could move, I launched myself on him, one arm grabbing his shoulder and the other pressing the knife against his throat. Then, knowing he would have a way to escape my grasp, I slit his throat and jumped off.
  "You may want to tend to your leader," I announced, bowing, then taking off into the trees. Darkness closed in on me, and I could no longer see anything, until I stumbled against a familiar feeling tree. Leaning against it, I caught my breath, then staggered around to the other side where an opening lay. Without a moment of hesitation, I plunged underground.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

The Nutcracker

So last night I received my parts for The Nutcracker that I will be performing this year. It had been an endless suspense, the mystery making me pull out my hair for two weeks. We auditioned last Sunday, and I'm been going mad every single day until last night when I finally got the paper. Yesterday we were counting down the hours and minutes too.

Finally, I got the paper. I got reindeer, snowflake, flower, and Russian. No lead roles, but all of these are the hardest and best group dances in the whole thing. So you can imagine I'm really happy right now.

Unfortunately, three of my friends were really unhappy. I won't say why, and I won't name names, because what if they manage to come to this blog anytime soon? No, that wouldn't go well. But they had good reasons for being upset and I feel really, really bad for them. :(

Otherwise, this year is going to be so much fun! :D

Friday, September 7, 2012

Celadon QW

  The cold bit at his skin more ferociously than ever, the wind tearing at his clothes, and the occasional sparkles of snow numbing his body. Huddling himself into an even tighter ball, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and tried to close himself off from the rest of the world. The howling that surrounded him seemed slightly fainter from the small shelter he had found for himself. Thin trees stood in a scattered circle around him, in the grass that laid beside the quiet road, no wagons passing on it.
  The crunching of leaves growing louder became apparent when the wind halted momentarily. Gasping, he held his breath and curled even tighter, hoping his dark clothes would prove as a camouflage in the dead of the night. He tried to block his ears in his shirt, shutting his eyes even more tightly, as if that would help shield him from whatever was approaching.
  Then he felt a warm hand on his bare arms, the touch of the warmth comforting against his unfeeling skin, as if it were rejuvenating a solid corpse back into life. He flinched away from it at first, then swiveled his head slowly and curiously to see who it was. The moment he grasped his unwelcome person's face, he recoiled immediately, recovering from the shock at who had found him. But...he's dead, he thought to himself repeatedly again and again in his mind, unwilling to believe that it might not be true. He tucked himself even more tightly and hoped his visitor would leave.
  He could feel the warm, relaxing body heat travel across his arm as the hand inspected him. When he didn't react to anything, just remained obstinately still, a soft voice rang out into the clearing, so familiar yet different, a disturbing sound that merely poisoned his thoughts. Even still, he turned around at the mention of his name. "Char."
  A boy's face hung above him, looking concerned in a way Char would never have thought possible to be on that one person's face. He  looked almost identical to Char himself, with crystal clear olive green eyes that were startling even in the dark against his tan skin. Thick, curled eyelashes cast long shadows on his cheekbones while his short dark brown hair was ruffled from being away from the life that gave you everything. He looked very much like the person Char had known four years ago, when he had been five, except that this boy looked much scrawnier, and much less fed.
  Char lay on the muddy ground, soiling his proper clothes with dirt, breathing hard. He didn't know how to react to seeing the boy, who he had taken for dead for so long suddenly appearing before him like magic. He drew his hand away from his touch, even though it felt warm, it held an icy cold sensation to it, knowing well who it was that was making the contact.
  "You're-you're dead!" Char stammered finally, allowing the words to fly out of his mouth before he could stop himself. A grim smile formed on the boy's face, although the concern appeared no less strongly. His hand reached out once again, but this time to touch Char's face. Char forced himself not to jerk away from the familiar touch that felt foreign.
  The smile disappeared. "Well, obviously not," he replied. The boy's hand fell to his side as he knelt next to Char obviously waiting for some response, some reacting of approval to show that Char wasn't too frightened of him. Never, Char thought. He could hardly think, forget about reasoning everything out to welcome him back into his life.
  "Is-is it really...?" he began, then trailed off afraid to say anymore, or to possibly jinx the shocking event that was taking place. Char wanted to sit up, but he felt too weak to move, two days of starvation other than crumbs was too much for him to bear. He put one arm in front of him cautiously, then slowly tried to haul himself up, before collapsing back onto the ground in defeat.
  The boy's sturdy arms wrapped around Char's torso, then lifted him until he was in a sitting position. He made room so that Char could lean on him, which Char accepted gratefully. "Does it feel like me?" After no response from Char, he continued. "It is. It is me, Oak. I still am your older brother."


So that's all I have from now, I wrote it today out of two reasons that bothered me. One, I needed to write something I hadn't in a while so badly, it started haunting me in the middle of the night while I woke up in between my stupid spider dreams. Two, I really am going to make an effort to bring this blog back where it used to be and make it even better.

I am going to continue this, but because I really want to post it, I'll leave it here for now and maybe write more tomorrow, so look out for my post then. It's an idea I've been think about since approximately three in the morning. I haven't exactly been sleeping well lately, I just randomly wake up in the middle of the night and try not to freak out. I can get really paranoid sometimes, especially when it's all dark and quiet. But this is all besides the point, what I am trying to say is that I will write more of this tomorrow. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Sorry for the...millionth time?


Well, as a writer you would expect me to perhaps be able to think of more than one way to apologize. Well this writer is a pretty bad writer, so that won't be coming. I suppose I'll have to just settle for the traditional, "I'm sorry." I'm so sorry for all the apologies vowing that I will be back, and that I'll start writing more, because that obviously did not happen. I'm sorry for all my broken promises.

But mostly, I am extremely disappointed in my supposedly loyal followers. Because I dropped from fifty of them, to forty-nine. Now, who would do such a thing? Thankfully, right after this disaster occurred, I got a new follower. But that isn't stopping me from writing all of your names down so I can keep track of who stops following me in the future. If you stop following my blog from now on, I will HUNT YOU DOWN. Because I will know your name. And your account. Mwahaha. Well just kidding, but I might send you an email about how much you hurt my feelings.

Anyway, moving on to other topics. It feels only just that as this is a writing blog and I have done no writing on here in so long, that I should perhaps write a little? I was going to write some of my normal, fantasy, violence, etc stories. Maybe some romance. But I got a bit sidetracked this morning, and now my head is absorbed into a completely different world. A world that I yearn to be in, and am trying my hardest to be a part of.


  The lights are dimmed, the audience is hushed. The only sound that can be heard is the pattering of footsteps beyond the double doors that block even the hit of light to peep into darkness. Everyone is waiting, anticipating that moment when they become completely vulnerable, and all eyes focus on them. With a boom, a light switches on, casting a gleaming circle into the center of blackness. A few murmurs escape the lips of those sighing in relief from boredom, although they are quickly hushed by those who know better.
  These people have no patience, I think as I stand by the side, rolling my eyes although no one could see, it is that dark where I wait. Then again, I am no better. This is taking too long. If they don't start soon enough, I will be late for my entrance. Finally, as no change is made from either the stage or the audience, I open one of the doors slightly, just barely enough for me to slide my skinny body through it. For a moment, I just stand there and blink my eyes. The light brightening the hallway contrasts too greatly with the dark atmosphere of the side of the stage where no one is supposed to be seen. Once my eyes get used to the change, I run down the hall and turn, bursting into a tiny room busy with girls fixing hair, makeup, and costumes. Slipping in between the bustling, I make my way to my own supplies. I had already done my hair and makeup, but I still need to slide my first costume on and wear my shoes.
  "Azure." I swivel my head away from the mirror to see my closest friend, and my biggest rival standing besides me. "You'll do great," Cassie smiled. She was already completely read to go on stage, her flowing pink party dress over her leotard and tights, her fake, curly hair cascading on to her shoulders, a pink bow tied neatly upon her head. Her feet, covered with socks held a squarish shape, meaning that her pointe shoes were also on. We always wear socks over our shoes, so that we don't ruin them, stepping on normal floor and other hazards to perfectly beautiful shoes.
  This year, Cassie got the role of Clara, the main character in The Nutcracker. Her role receives the most adoration, the most attention. I got the Snow Queen, the Arabian Princess, and the Sugar Plum Fairy. All of the parts can compete, they are all equally difficult in ability. Both of our talent for dance is equal, making us rivals. But our friendship has been twisted together since as long as I can remember, which serves as a counterbalance for our position.
  I smirk back at her. "Of course I will. And so will you. We always do well, right?" This performance will be our fifth out of many so far this year. We usually do a total of ten shows, so as of this moment, we are about halfway through.
  Quickly, I pull my white tutu up over my legs and bend down to slide the pointe shoes on. Then I cross them in the familiar pattern and tie them tightly so they won't come out on stage. I also use hair spray to secure it. Once I double check that I look stage ready, I nod to Cassie and follow her out, back through the double doors into darkness. The music is playing, and the prologue is taking place. Grinning at Cassie, and flashing her a thumbs up, I make my way to the wing that I would enter from and settle myself as it would be a long wait until my turn comes.
  It's always a joy watching a performance, no matter how many times you have seen it before, or what angle you are watching from. The way each dancer moves, it creates a story of their own, one that is fascinating to dissect. They show the emotions on their faces so well, but I know from my own experience that it has nothing to do with what they are actually thinking. In our heads, it is all about the technique, and make sure it is pleasant to watch. None of the feelings we portray are actually our thoughts.

Finally, the battle scene is over. The mice scurry offstage, and all who are left are Clara and the Nutcracker. After doing a short pas de deux, they run offstage and past the wings. I stand up, knowing the snow scene is about to start. Of course I don't make the first appearance, the snowflakes have to dance first. I creep slowly into the wing where I wait until it is my turn. The heavy cloth legs next to me are black, except for the bright light shining on them, in the shapes of snowflakes.
  Temps leve, glissade, grande jete. My cue to go onstage. They have to perform that movement three more times before they clear off and I run on into the blinding light. I can see my partner waiting from the wing across the stage. He is jumping from foot to foot, warming up his feet.
  I hear heavy breathing next to me. Cassie is standing there, waiting for her next entrance. She exits the other side of the stage, but she reenters from where I stand. Meaning the moment she runs off, she has to sprint all the way across from the back. I can see the sweat glistening off her skin, threatening to roll down in drops of liquid. "Good job," I whisper, before the music abruptly changes and I race on the stage and step into an arabesque, then tour jete. I hold the position until my partner runs out himself and pretends to support me. While I wait, I run a mental list through my head. Straight leg, turned out, body up, head up, arms in front, smile. Smile.  Make sure you're smiling. It is basically the last reminder to myself before I cannot focus on smiling and I have to remember the combination. During every resting moment, where I am not in the middle of a leap or turn, I run that list repeatedly.
  After a few more movements, I step up in front, and hold my partners hand above my head, my other resting his his palm next to mine. I develope my leg in front of me, then whip it quickly to the side and bring it into passe, tearing my arms away from his and putting them in first position in front of me. In that position, I do ten pirouettes unstopping, his hands on my waist to keep me in balance. With that, I step away and run off stage for the final time as the snow queen. Panting, I trudge back to the dressing room, where I am congratulated by my friends.
  Even though I am exhausted, it was worth it. It always is. The pressure, the attention, the fact that if you mess up, hundreds of people know is satisfying. That is the pleasure of ballet, somehow difficulty is more appealing than ease.

Okay. So that sucked. I know. And I know no one cares about me fantasizing about my dance life and how I want to be the star of a professional company and everything but I had to! You see, we had our auditions last Sunday. For two weeks I've been starving from knowledge about what parts I might receive this year, my first time en pointe. They are going to announce the results on Friday, so as of the moment, forty-six hours and five minutes from now. So I've been in a Nutcracker mode right now. Bear with me a while. :)

Monday, August 20, 2012

New Look

Needless to say, I gave the blog a new look. Do you like it? The pictures are new, they are some that I took myself during our trip to Yellowstone. They look better when they are big. ;)

I have not much to say in this post, other than I am very sorry for telling you that I'm going to start posting a lot more now, and that I really feel bad about not posting, and then poofing for this long. Although I didn't mention it, NaNoWriMo is going on and I am trying to finish it. So do not expect me on much until the end of August. Well don't expect any new posts at all until September.

So yeah. That's it. Tell me what you think about the new look in the chat box and comments!

Another thing, I just realized. I have reached 50 followers, thanks to Connie and everyone else who helped. The only problem is that I lost the earrings. Would you mind if I offered different ones instead? I'll post pictures and the results soon.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sorry!

Don't worry. I haven't forgotten about yo. At all. And it's not as if I had been too lazy to come on the blog or anything like that....

So first, explanations. I would say I haven't been online too much since I last posted, which is true, but it isn't an explanation for why I didn't post something when I was online, however rare that might have been. My true reason for my absence is not something I am proud of, but is the only excuse I can come up with. This is a writing blog, but if you noticed, I haven't posted my writing that I'm actually serious about, save Celadon. But the Emerald I have been working on is on a Google Document, and the one you see here right now is one of my earlier attempts at getting the story started. But now I am really working with Emerald, having almost com up with the entire plot line and working on all the small details I had never known I would need to know. And I'm not entirely keen on sharing it. For one, this is a blog, open to anyone. Therefore, anyone can steal my work, something I would rather not have happen. And two, what if I actually meet my goal of publishing the book? I wouldn't want everyone to have already seen it. That's why I haven't been posting Emerald here. 

The reason I haven't posted other things either, is because I'm putting my full effort into the story. And so whenever I have been online, I've been on the document and not on here. Of course, I would come to check if anyone commented or chatted in the Cbox, but not to post. Speaking of which, I'm disappointed to see that none of the things I mentioned in the line above had been done while I was gone. No comments on even my latest post! Back to the original point, I am sorry for ignoring you. I see all of these blogs dying, I see so many people getting so engrossed in other things that they forget about their blogs, and I don't want to be like them. I will make it a point that no matter how busy I am, I will always try to post here as often as I can.

On to other news, last night I started reading Lord of the Rings. My dad had read it long ago, and as he had handed the book heavy enough to weight life with to me, he warned me. "The first hundred and fifty pages are all description and are difficult to get through. After that though,you can't put the book down." I am proud to say that last night I read up till the second page of the prologue, then put it down, thinking, It's too late at night. I should sleep. Of course I didn't put it down out of boredom or anything like that. I was much too fascinated by how hobbits were shorter than dwarves to even think of the word "bored". You don't know how immensely reluctant I had been to set the book down on my nightstand and drift off to sleep, my mind whirling with thoughts of Emerald. 

I had better luck this morning. I woke up, and after I failed to pass into the land of dreams again, I figured I would give Lord of the Rings another try. I picked up where I left off. Hobbits were indeed shorter than dwarves. I continued on, my mind fresh from the restful night I had had, and and I am happy to announce that I passed page forty. 

Again switching to another topic, last night was amazing. My dad had told us at around five in the evening, that there would be a stargazing event not too far from our house. It was amazing. Am I being a bit repetitive? Of course the moon was too bright to actually see anything, but still, looking through the telescopes and seeing stars, star clusters, Saturn, and planetary nebulae was an amazing experience. I am so glad that I learned some astronomy last year in eighth grade science, and I had the slightest clue what these guys were talking about.

Now, would you like some writing? Keep in mind that I am posting out of guilt, and so I am making this up on the spot for you to read. It won't be very good writing. It's an Emerald scene that would came much later into the story than I am currently at, where Fira, Aqua, and Windel meet Alec for the first time.

  Fira glanced between Alec and Ethan, still comprehending what stood in front of her. Or more like, who stood in front of her. Alec was her boyfriend on Earth, what was he doing on Emerald? And why did he seem to be glaring at Ethan? She had always known Spencer hadn't like Alec, but this was beyond strange. 
  "Alec," Ethan snarled. "Why are you here? Go back to your own little planet."
  Alec acknowledged Ethan with a nod. Then he turned to face the others with an expression of curiosity. "Oh, I just was interested in meeting the new magic users. His blue eyes swept Aqua and Windel up and down, then they fell on Fira, where they lingered for much longer before he faced Ethan again. "Is that really so terrible of a crime?"
  "You invade. And now you should leave, before I - we, force you to," Ethan amended. 
  Alec shrugged. "As you wish."
  Fira watched on, still confused, but when she saw him make an attempt to leave, she stepped forward.   "Wait." She paused, then asked, "What is going on here?"
  She thought she saw Alec's face twist into a hard smile, slightly cruel. That wasn't the Alec she knew. He was always light-hearted, and fun, with never a hint of aggressiveness in him. "I see you haven't told them about me," he laughed. "Very well then. I'll do the honors." He took a step forward, ten introduced himself. "My name is Alec. You may already know me, but what you probably didn't know is that I am one of the major leaders of Sapphire, and I am now your enemy and you should probably never talk to me again, and that now your life will be devoted to destroying mine, and vice versa. And you are?" Throughout his entire speech, his gaze bore into Fira. 
  "That's enough." Ethan took a step forward. "I ask nicely of you again. Leave."
  "Fine," Alec shrugged again, appearing nonchalant in his posture, though his eyes never left Fira's face. They seemed intent, as if he were trying to tell her something. Finally, he asked, "May I have a word?"
  Ethan looked ready to force him away, but Fira stepped in. "Of course," she said, moving a few steps closer to him. "What do you want?"
  All aspects of his former mood vanished when he looked down at her. "I just wanted to tell you, I am so sorry. Sorry for everything that I am about to do. And that I never wanted this," he whispered, so that only she could hear. Then he took a few steps backward, almost staggering. "Then I leave now," he announced to all four of them. "I hope to never see you again." With that, he vanished.
  And then, the ground erupted.


Well, that's it. I warned you, this would be terrible. I'm afraid to even read it again, terrified of what horrid writing I might find in it. But unfortunately, it is all I can offer right now, so it will have to suffice. I will be working on my wallpapers for Connie and Waveclaw, which I will post soon. Enjoy!

Monday, July 16, 2012

New Excerpt from Emerald

A something I wrote last night, this morning, and this afternoon. It's a key part of Emerald.



Firenze stood at the end of the workshop, his eyes wide as he saw the two girls and one boy. Three of the four children, who were, in a way, his heirs. There was always a chance that they wouldn’t know who he was. Playing the role he had been playing since he was fifteen, he pushed his glasses up his nose and took a step forward to greet his guests. “Hello, there. Forgive me for the awful mess. I usually don’t expect people over. Tell me, what can I do for you? Would you like anything to drink, or-”
“Firenze,” the red head said coldly, her fiery eyes burning into his. It felt strange to be looking at exactly what was often said about himself, having the fire reflected in his face. “Don’t play with us,” she said. “We want answers and we want them now.” She and the other two stood still as they waited for Firenze to reply.
He eyed them warily, desperately trying to find a way out of the mess he had gotten himself into. Finally he sighed. “Of course, Fira. Aqua, Windel. We have much to talk about.”

Once they had settled down into the seats, Fira and Windel had bombarded him with questions not even allowing him the chance to answer. He felt uncomfortable, having such undivided attention after so many years, but he forced himself to relax, and waited for the endless stream of chattering to die down. When they grew quiet, he finally asked, “Is that it?”
Silence. Then, Aqua spoke up, slowly and carefully. “Tell us your story, Firenze. The whole story. From the beginning.”
Firenze swallowed. That was exactly what he didn’t want to do. “Fine. I will. But after I am finished, whether you have gained whatever you had hoped to achieve by coming here, you will leave and never speak of me again.”
“No,” Aqua replied. “We do not agree. But we do have means of finding out what we need to, and we will use them if we must.”
Firenze smiled knowingly. “My child...you forget who I am. You cannot hope to best me.” He allowed some of his old fire to return to his eyes as he drew in a breath. “But I acquiesce. I shall share with you what you wish to know, for you must have good reason to search me out so. If it turns out that you came merely to admonish me, then I will be most unpleased.”

“I was fifteen when Wendy died. I loathed myself for her fate, and I grew to be angry and grouchy all of the time. I think that her death affected me so greatly because, well, it had been my fault. We battled Althalos fiercely but it wasn’t enough. Slowly their forces began to overwhelm us, and unless a miracle occurred, we would become slave to the powerful planet. So I decided to make a move no one would have dared to. I snuck into the heart, the capital of our enemy and destroyed their forces from within. Little did I know I was being followed.
“I dealt with their defenses with ease and moved along much quicker than I had anticipated. Everywhere I walked, dead bodies would lay strewn behind me. I was reckless and foolish, and I embraced my victory much too early. When I had killed the last set of guards, I opened the door of the throne room too confidently and marched straight in.
“Instantly, I was overwhelmed. Sorcerers swarmed me from every angle, leaving me defenseless as they breached my6 mind and froze my body. They tortured me while I couldn’t move, and when they finally released me from their spell, all I could do was fall, my blood coating their pretty marble floor as I writhed in pain. Finally, the leader hauled me up and pressed me against the wall, his sword aimed at my gut. As he was about to plunge it in, a commotion from just outside reached his ears. Wendy walked in, fearlessly fending off each blow.
“While my captor was distracted, I grabbed his arm and drew enough strength from him so that I wouldn’t collapse. No more though, because no matter the circumstances stealing energy is a crime and should never be done. Once I was able to stand, I burned the man holding me and hoped to catch Wendy’s eye. When I finally did, she just mouthed at me to go. Although I hated the idea of leaving her there alone, I knew I was too weak to help and would only make it more difficult for her. So I ran.
“Then I heard a scream and I looked back. A knife protruded from Wendy’s chest and her body hung lifeless, her face deathly pale. Horror froze me in my tracks, and I was just about to run back for her when they rushed at me. Having no time to outrun them, I cast a barrier of fire between them and me, feeling only a twinge of strength left in me. Then I escaped.
“It took me more than a day to recover before I could teleport home. Once I reached there, of course Tidus and Edna were furious with me. Especially Edna. She had always treated me like a child, as she rightfully should being twelve years older than me, but since then she regarded me even more coldly, and speaking to me when she must. She had always been very close to Wendy, as sisters would be.
“Naturally, I hated myself for what had happened. Even though Tidus disapproved of my actions as well, he tried his best to console me. If it weren’t for him, I might have vanished from then itself.
“Two years passed. At seventeen, I grew headstrong and arrogant, too proud of my powers. I dated many girls, though didn’t care for any of them. I suppose I was what you might call a player.
“But the war with Althalos still raged on. In one particular battle, they captured me. They remembered me from when I had slipped out of their grasp and they hated me for it. Apparently, I had cause them quite a bit of embarrassment. That part still entertains me. Anyway, they remembered me and were determined to make my death as painful as they could. The succeeded. After driving a blade through my body a countless number of times, I couldn’t think anymore. I could barely breathe. Not to forget the fact that they exploited my weakness against ice and water.
“I didn’t realize when they left. All I could do was wonder if I was dead yet or not. And if I was, would I remain in that painful state for all of eternity? Then the pain in my chest increased dramatically, and died down. I felt a presence beside me, whom I later found out to be the one girl I had feelings for but never got the courage to voice my opinion. She nursed me back to health, a difficult job, and in three months I had fully recovered. I learned what had become the fate of my planet, then retreated into hiding.
“You see, they had managed to make peace with Althalos But it was a fragile truce, like a rubber band stretched so much, that it could snap any moment without warning. And I knew my survival would only infuriate Althalos. So I remained hidden. And I have been ever since,” Firenze finished. He took a sip of his water and moistened his lips, waiting for their response.
The three teenagers were silent. Then WIndel asked, “But why didn’t you go back once the threat had passed?” His gray eyes were curious and bore into him, too similarly to Wendy’s.
Firenze sighed. “I was afraid. How could I face them, how could I show up after so long and explain somehow that I had been alive and staying away the entire time? I couldn’t. Besides, I’m sure they must have been happy I was dead, Finally my foolishness wouldn’t cost them the peace they were maintaining.” They were silent again, obviously having found no way to reply to what he had said. Seeing the opportunity, he changed the subject, asking, “Are the rumors I hear...Tidus...is he really-?”
“Dead. Yes,” Fira replied emotionlessly. She was quiet for a few moments, then she finally said, “You can come back now. Edna, she is the only one left. Or so she believes.”
Firenze shook his head. “No, I couldn’t. Never.”
“Let me repeat this a slight bit more clearly,” Fira said, her voice firm. “We aren’t really giving you a choice. You’re coming back. We’ll fight you if we have to.”

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Emerald Quickwrite

So I wrote this two days ago when I was super bored.It is in Alec's point of view, although now I realize you probably don't know who he is. Alec is one of the bad guys. He's bad but kinda doesn't realize it. Also, I wrote this on my phone, and typing on the phone is so painful, most of the paragraphs are like one sentence long. So this piece of writing is also kinda terrible. Enjoy!



Alec gasped as his back hit the ground, his shoulder blades digging painfully into the rock in the midst of battle. About to heave himself upward, he froze when a knife poked his chest.

What a terrible way to die, he thought, swearing under his breath. Not even honorably, merely some amateur getting a lucky shot at him.

He bit back a cry as the point of the blade bit down into his ribs, the cold steel pressing against his bone. Before he felt it pierce the heart though, any icy cold sensation spread across his upper body and he saw the sword getting coated with a layer of ice. The blade froze in place, stuck in the same painful position.

Alec took deep ragged breaths as he adjusted to the new situation, forcing himself not to panic about the fact that there was a knife in his chest. Just relax, he told himself furiously, just relax.

Finally he twisted his head at an odd angle ignoring the jolt of pain that traveled up his neck in order to gain an explanation. It stood behind him, Ethan's familiar stature blocking the sun. His green eyes burned into the soldier who had struck him down. "We do not kill," he chastised, "unless we must. Remove your weapon now."

Alec turned his head back to the man who stood above him. Reluctance outshone his pride at being able to defeat the infamous Alec as he gripped the handle and jerked his sword out in an angle that injured Alec more.

As soon as he was free, Alec kicked the soldier and jumped up, allowing a small groan of pain to escape his mouth when he grabbed the sword from the soldier. Before the man could react, Alec beheaded him and turned back to Ethan. Seeing the expression on his foe's face, he bowed mockingly, then spun around and sprinted away.
~07/14/2012

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Multipost

I had three things to post about. And I know people never look at other posts than the one om top so I decided to combine them all.

First of all, I got back from my vacation on July 1st. However, being the lazy person I am, I decided not to dig out my laptop until today. I apologize for that.

I also must bring up another short topic such as the previous. I have noticed that only three of my supposedly loyal followers still look at this blog. Why is that? I understand that I haven't been posting too often lately, however the few posts I have written have gotten few, if not none at all, views. It disheartens me and makes me believe that you no longer care to see if I attend to this blog or not.

On happier notes, I have been nominated for the Liebster Blog award by Jessica. I highly recommend visiting her blog, Written Paintings, for she is am amazing writer and she takes care of her blog very well. I will fulfill the requirements of this as soon as I finish speaking about my other topic.

I recently finished reading the Inheritance series, and I must say it was extremely well written. I suggest everyone to read it, no matter how boring it may seem in the beginning, or how daunting the length of the books may seem to you. For those of you who don't recognize the name of this series, I am sure you have heard of it. The first book is named Eragon. The rest follow in order of Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance.

It's about a fifteen year old orphan named Eragon, who stumbles across a large blue stone while hunting. Soon after he discovers it, it hatches into a cobalt blue dragon who immediately establishes a connection to him. As he discovers more about what he now possesses, and his uncle is killed and his farm left in ruins, he is forced to leave his remaining family, a cousin, behind and escape to learn what his fate is meant to be. And that now, the destiny of the whole empire may rest in his hands.

It's a story full of twists and surprises, mythical creatures, and action. Not to mention the most saddening romance, and a maddening bittersweet ending during the last hundred pages of Inheritance. If you have already read the series, please inform me because I must speak to someone of it, and since I am recommending it to you, I unfortunately can't put up spoilers. Something that those of you who know me know that I would love to do. If you haven't read it, please do! It pays off, all the time spent on it, when you are captured by the mystery of it and can't stop turning the pages to find out what happens next. It's a wonderful series.

I suppose I'll talk about the Liebster Blog award now. First of all, I don't want to do this. It's a total waste of time. And right when I clicked post, all my work here got deleted. Except for the facts and questions. So you know what? I'm not going to do it. This is really stupid. And in the future, DON'T TAG ME FOR ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

Rules:

~ Those who are tagged or nominated must first post eleven facts about themselves.
~ Following that, they answer the eleven questions assigned to them, and then create eleven more questions for whoever they tag to answer.
~ Tag eleven more bloggers and inform them of the award. They cannot tag the person that tagged them.
~ They cannot tag someone with more than 200 followers.

Facts:

~1: I get obsessed with anything and everything. The moment I read something or watch something, I am hooked on and it replays within my mind over and over, alternate endings and extra characters developing.

~2: My latest movie obsession is Titanic. Favorite book series is Inheritance. And my favorite music are the songs by The Wanted.

~3: I first got into writing when I read Warriors. It was my obsession that forced me to begin writing a fan fiction. Ever since I got tired of that, I have been a persevering writer. One who now despises fan fiction.

~4: I can think of a million alternate endings to Titanic, just so that Jack will live. Or, so that Rose dies too.

~5: I love dancing and I can't wait to get back to dance on Monday. We'll be doing almost eight hours a day, five days a week. It will last four weeks until school begins.

~6: I am NOT looking forward to school. No matter the situation, high school or not, all I want to do is stay home and enjoy my summer.

~7: I just thought of something. Since everything about this is eleven, wouldn't it make more sense if there were eleven rules too?

~8: And while we are on the topic of eleven, I'm not sure I can think of eleven people to tag....

~9: I tend to get along much better with people younger than me than those my age or older. I have found that my name is famous among the fifth graders of my elementary school. I had fun stalking them through email.

~10: There is this fun water park nearby my home, and I invited a bunch of my friends to come and we all made the plans together. But all of them ditched and cancelled until there was one girl left besides me. But I think instead of just cancelling it, the two of us will end up going.

~11: Hm...let me think. Since this is my last fact, I should make it good right? Unfortunately, I can't think of anything good so I'll just go with: I love you all!

Questions:

1. Do you have any pets? What sort?
    a. Aye. I have two cats, and one fish. Not to mention my brother whom I think of as a monkey. My cats are Billi, the male who is eleven, and Julie, the female at six years old. My fish, Anakin, is about one year. And my brother is six.

2. What is your greatest ability?
     a. A difficult question. While many believe that admitting your flaws is difficult, I think it's even more difficult to know what you are truly good at. I'd say I am good at dancing, singing, writing, jewelry making, blackmailing, hiding, being annoying, very annoying actually, and many more. But I would say my greatest ability would be to see people and would be to overcome my jealousy, to maybe get upset easily but to forget it even more easily, and to never be able to hold a grudge. I guess, in a way, my greatest ability isn't so much an ability and it is an inability.

3. What's your favorite genre of book?
     a. Oh. Easiest, most simple question ever. I like action, or fantasy. Or anything along those lines. Something that isn't like normal life.

4. List five beliefs, religious or not.
    a. First of all, totally not religious. Just saying. I'm anything but religious. No offense to those who are, of course. Um. Well, first: I believe this world is full of idiots. Second: I believe that most people are ignorant of their surroundings. Third: I believe in everything people would call religious. Fourth: I believe that animals are higher beings than we are. Fifth: I believe that everyone is corrupt.

5. Would you ever shave your head for cancer or any other charity?
     a. No. I treasure my hair. I wouldn't shave my head. I'm not heartless though. What I usually do is grow my hair long, like below the waist, then cut it to shoulder length. With that much hair I do donate for cancer.

6. What's the place you want to travel to the most?
     a. That's hard. I guess I'll say Europe. I've been there once before, but it was when I was much, much younger. I don't really remember anything. But if you're asking where I would want to leave the most, I would say Massachusetts. I spent my first nine living years there before moving to this blasted California.

7. Favorite quote?
    a. Agh. I have no clue. I've never really cared about quotes, nor paid any attention to them. I have a collection of funny quotes though, which you can check out at Quotes.

8. Have you ever danced in the rain, or if not, do you want to?
    a. I have not ever done so, at least not as far as I can remember. However, yes, I would like to. But only if someone is willing to with me.

9. Which season is the best?
     a. Winter, as long as it snows.

10. Would you ever get a tattoo?
    a. No. In all my life, I will never get a tattoo. In my opinion, they look terrible. Besides, they require work. Not to mention the pain while they put it on.

11. What is the greatest smell in the world?
       a. I don't know! Haha...I don't care about smells. I guess I would say jasmine, or chicken 65....

Well, I suppose that's it. Keep checking for posts because now I'm going to start blogging a lot more!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Vacation

I probably should have mentioned this earlier. But today I am leaving to Idaho, (I live in California) for a week. We're driving and we'll meet a few relatives, so I may not be on here until July second. Then again, it could end up the other way that because I won't be here I'll feel more urgency to write and I will. I really don't know. This is just a heads up. 

I'll also admit my defeat for NaNoWriMo. With only a week left and 3,000 words out of 50,000 written, I suppose I should accept that it's not going to happen. But I will finish it in August!

So yes, I will miss you and I am sure that you will all miss me too.

A little piece of writing now.

  Alec stared at Fira, cursing himself for being on the opposing side, the one that would soon be forced to kill her. He'd always loved her as Sav, but now in her Emerald form she was stunning. And angry. Very angry. Her eyes smoldered as she gazed directly at him, and from her hand sprouted a small flame. Without warning, she hurled it straight at him.
  He dove out of the way and stood to the side of where he had been standing. Behind him a hole burned in the wall. "What was that for?" he demanded, glaring at her. "That would have hurt. Like really hurt."
  "I'm supposed to kill you, aren't I?" Fira stated simply, shrugging though the fury in her eyes hadn't died down at all.
  Alec hesitated. "Well, yeah. But look. I really don't want to fight you Fira. If we can avoid this somehow, then I would really appreciate it." He ducked out of the way again when she threw a slightly larger ball of fire.
  "Why would I do anything for you?" Her voice was stony though he could see from her face that she was enjoying this. If she enjoyed fighting, then she would do well working for Saf Ari...maybe he could bring her to his side.
  No, he shook his head. Adelvia is evil. She doesn't plan on doing anything helpful. She'll probably dispose of me when she has achieved.
  As quickly as the thought came, it disappeared. He had only one goal set in mind now. Lure Fira to the dark side.

Yeah so it was short and pretty bad. But I felt guilty because I haven't been posting any writing in my writing blog. So there you go. I'll  miss you all! <3

~fira~

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Raffle and The Wanted

As you can see, we have 46 followers here now. Does anyone remember the prize for fifty? I have two pairs of earrings which I will send out to you guys. Each follower gets their name put in once, UNLESS they get one of their friends to follow too. For each new follower that you bring, your name is entered one more time.

During the past month or two, or however long the raffle has been in progress, I have been the one bringing in followers. Only maybe two of you actually brought your own. So, your chances of winning the earrings aren't too high. Come on people!

To see the earrings and to learn more about this, go to my post Raffle. We're only four away! We can get four more followers right?

On a side note, I just wanted to say that The Wanted are a really good band! I did not notice the word thing there by the way. Until now. Anyway, I know they technically aren't a band. I mean none of them play instruments, but they all sing.

Their songs are really good in my opinion. Not your typical mainstream. The songs I would most recommend  would be:

Glad You Came
Warzone
Behind Bars
All Time Low
Chasing the Sun
Satellite
Lightning
Gold Forever
Heart Vacancy
Lose My Mind

Yeah. There is this whole battle between One Direction and The Wanted because some directioner said the TWFanmily deserved hate or something, and now they are showing each other off. In my opinion both bands are good, but I like The Wanted better. I'll always be part of the TWFanmily.


Thursday, June 14, 2012

The Art of Performances

I don't know what to say here honestly. How do I explain what it feels like to be dancing in a dark auditorium with the spotlight right on you? What it's like to, while making sure your expression is pleasant and everything looks effortless, worrying your head off, hoping you don't mess up? And the knowledge that every seat in that auditorium is filled and they are all looking at you.


I bet it sounds scary.

Which is the difficult part to explain. How do I explain the thrill it sends inside of you, that wrenching that forces you to just do it again. And again. And especially, when you've messed up, in front of everyone, how do you go on without dying of embarrassment? Don't forget injuries. Even if your foot hurts, your leg hurts, your head hurts, your stomach hurts, or maybe you just seriously have to use the bathroom but there is no time, all you can do is go on stage and smile as if you don't have a worry in the world.

It's the best feeling in the world.

That feeling of accomplishment when you're done, when you're offstage, and that longing that makes you wish it had never even happened because you just don't want it to be over.

Some people don't understand why I like this, like the risk of embarrassing myself in front of an audience. The thing is, it is worth the risk. People enjoy entertainment, I enjoy entertaining. So it works, doesn't it? Everything requires preparation and practice. And everything has that little freak out moment when you're not sure if it is enough. So why not expand that feeling, make it something that pleases others, and just let the feeling last a little longer?

You may be wondering why I'm talking about my performances now. Well, on Sunday, June 10th, 2012, I participated in my dance school's annual end of the year showcase. I have no words to describe it, but that it was fun. Some things just can't be described better than that. They are too much for words.

I had a solo this year. In my contemporary dance, I was the lead and had two solos. Otherwise, I blend in with the group, except for those two parts on my own. That was amazing. I've never had a solo before in a dance, but this was big for me. It was my first time performing a solo on stage. And I really want to tell you more about it but I can't! Like I said, there are no words for this.

Along with it being my first solo, this was also my first showcase en pointe. Not in that specific dance, I mean, I had six parts this year. Only two of them were real, classical ballet. That was really awesome too!

The only sad part about the showcase was when it was over. Not when I messed up my big solo. Only when it was over. Because all of us would go home for the summer. No more classes till July, and not everyone is doing the summer classes. So basically it was a repeat of the school good bye session.

Speaking of which, I'm going to stray a bit off topic from the title of the post here. Because this is something I meant to post a long time ago, but kept getting distracted from. The last day of school.

So normally this isn't that great of a deal, right? Oh yeah, blah blah, I'll miss you over the summer, see you next year! This was different. Way different.

You see, this was the last day of middle school. In the past two years, all the friends I made, I had to say goodbye to approximately half. Forever. Because face it, no matter how many times you say "Keep in touch" it's not going to happen. There are those few friends that stay with you for longer than most. But everyone gets lost somewhere.

This end of the year was double sad. I'm going to miss all of you who I won't see again, and I'm just going to say the famous words. Keep in touch! Because the last thing I need is to lose more friends due to something as stupid as changing schools. You may all be going to different high schools than me, but we can still meet otherwise, right?

<3 I'll miss everyone.

So yeah. I should also mention, since I haven't yet, that I am doing NaNoWriMo this month. Which...I am really behind on. If you think you're behind, think again. So that's why I haven't been posting lately, and I won't be for some time. I still love you all!

I also forgot to say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRIYA!!!


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

A...Random Rambling I Guess?

This would have qualified as a quickwrite except for two reasons. One, I wrote this for school, and second, I spent a long time on this trying to make it good. While reading, keep in mind that nothing I write for school comes out good, and I wrote this at around eleven at night about.

And now, a continuation of where Son of Neptune left off!


Percy stood with the Romans in Camp Jupiter, staring into the sky. He knew that even though they had made him praetor, they didn’t fully trust him. He could not blame them, really. For hundreds of years, Greeks and Romans had hated each other. They had been enemies as long as anyone could remember. And now here they were, welcoming a group of Greeks from Camp Half-Blood on a flying warship into their camp.
        Definitely not something to make him very trustworthy. And if anything went wrong,he would be sentenced to death.
        None of it mattered anyway. Soon, he was going to see Annabeth. For so long, he only dreamed of her, not truly knowing if she even existed or not. He was still going to have to slap Juno through for stealing his memories.
         Percy was jerked out of his thoughts when the ship landed right in front of him on the ground. After taking a few steps back, he waited for someone to step out of the ship. All was silent, even Octavian wasn’t making a fuss about nonsense. Everyone wanted to see what they would do.
         Finally, Leo stepped out. In person, he looked even more like the boy in Hazel’s photograph, Sammy. Somehow they were related. Or maybe they were the same person. Percy had seen enough strange things in his life to not be too surprised if the second theory turned out to be true.
         The only problem would be that what would happen to Frank and Hazel? They were definitely made for each other...but Hazel had been in love with Sammy Valdez in her previous life. This would definitely bring up some complications there.
          Again his thoughts drifted back to Annabeth. Where was she? After a couple more familiar people stepped out, there she was, her Yankees cap firmly rested on her head, her blond hair spilling down on her shoulders. Her gray eyes met Percy’s gaze. No one moved.
         Then she started walking toward him. Percy could feel his heart racing. Would she kiss him? It had been so long since they had seen each other.
         His hopes vanished when she slapped him clear across the face. Before he could even ask why she did that, she started yelling at him. “Where were you? What happened to staying in one place so Tyson could find you easily? And most of all, why did you leave?”
         Again, she didn’t let him respond. Instead, she went to go stand by the members of camp Half-Blood again.
         Suddenly, Percy didn’t know what to do. Where did he belong? he’d grown up, learned the world of gods through Camp Half-Blood, but now he was the appointed praetor of Camp Jupiter. And wouldn’t Octavian love it if he just left them for the Greeks? It would confirm his most desired suspicions.
        But the gaze in Annabeth’s eyes had been so challenging. As if she were daring him to come back. He could just hear her telling him, You’re a coward. You always run away. Without another moment’s hesitation, Percy spoke up.
          “Well...hi.”
          Okay, it wasn’t much. But it was something, something at all to break the frosted silence that marked the boundary between the two groups of demigods.
         Leo grinned. “‘Sup.”
        That guy seemed friendly enough. Maybe if Annabeth wanted to remain all silent, he could talk with him instead.

It turned out that they all met in the same room. Percy, Frank and Hazel seemed nice enough. Though there was that way that they were looking at him, Hazel especially. As if she’d seen a ghost or something. Leo couldn’t figure it out.
Annabeth had come too, with him, Jason, and Piper. Reyna settled herself in the room too. Honestly, Leo would have preferred it if she hadn’t been there too; there was something very unsettling about the way she looked around, but he guessed he shouldn’t challenge her, since she was the real power between the two praetors.
“Right,” Percy began. “I’m pretty sure you all know the details of why we’re here, so let’s get right to it. We need to figure out what our plan to go about this is. And we need to figure out who our seventh person is.” Leo could see the hesitation behind Percy’s last statement, as his eyes lingered on Annabeth. He definitely liked her a lot, but she still wouldn’t talk to him.
Jason nodded in agreement. He probably seemed the most uncomfortable in the room. Leo knew that Jason liked Piper. But the way that he was avoiding meeting both Reyna’s and Piper’s eyes, he suspected that there was something going on. If Jason hurt Piper...well he would pay. Piper didn’t deserve anything like that.
Hazel spoke up. “Wait, Percy, I think we should tell them about Nico...,” her voice trailed off when she saw Percy’s and Annabeth’s expressions darken.
“What happened to Nico?” Annabeth asked. Leo had to give it to her, she finally spoke without glaring at Percy. He almost felt bad for the guy.
Percy shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Er..well. Nico thought he might be able to find the Doors of Death from the other side. And Gaea has him now. We have no idea if he is even alive at this point.”
Annabeth’s eyes widened. “Oh,” was all she said. Leo had heard about this Nico from Annabeth, but he really didn’t know who he was. Except that he was a child of Hades.
Leo met Piper’s eyes. She noticed the discomfort about Nico too. “I guess it’s decided then,” she said. “We find this Nico person first.”
Percy looked as if he were about to argue, then sighed. “We shouldn’t...but we have to.”
Hazel looked grateful. Annabeth just looked shocked still.
“But I don’t get it. Nico is powerful. Like stay-hidden-from-anything powerful. How did he get caught?” Annabeth asked.
Hazel sighed. “I don’t know,” she said. She looked as if she were going to cry soon. Leo noticed how much younger she was to the rest of them, about three years of a difference. “Gaea spoke to me, telling me she had him.”
“She could have been lying,” Frank told her softly.
Hazel nodded. “She could have been. But he should have been back by now. Made some kind of...contact that he was still alive.” No one disagreed at the table.
“Do we have any idea where to begin?” Leo asked, looking around the table.

Nico moaned in pain as the chains that shackled him tugged again. He was beat up and bloody, for an earth goddess, Gaea could be pretty violent. You would think she had someone else do her dirty work, but no, there she was, slowly torturing Nico.
He kept forcing his hopes out that his friends might come and find him. As much as he wanted to live, there were so many reasons to let him just die here. For one, he wasn’t important. It was obvious he wasn’t the seventh in the prophecy, therefore it couldn’t be bad if he died.
Second, he knew what Gaea’s plan was. She was trying to lure them into finding him. But she won’t let Nico go, she’ll keep him and let one of her supporters possess his mind so that he could go and kill the demigods of the prophecy. And the only way to stop him would be to slay him.
Nico would rather be dead than be forced to fight his friends.
A boy walked into the room. He was probably only a few years older than Nico, possibly seventeen, shaggy blond hair covering his eyes. His clothes were threadbare, and a bright celestial bronze sword swung at his side.
“Hello, Nico,” he grinned.
Nico didn’t respond, unwilling to even pretend to cooperate with the one who was going to kill him in a few moments. Alec.
Alec shot him a look. “Oh, no manners, have we?” he said in that taunting tone while sliding at his sword and poking it in Nico’s side. He was aware of a warm liquid beginning to trickle down from where the poke was.
Before Nico could move, or react in any way, Alec stuck the sword just under his heart, not deep enough for the wound to be fatal, but enough for it to feel like it. Nico stifled a scream and his back arched in pain.
Alec walked away silently. Before long, Nico heard a voice he never thought he would hear again.
“Nico...?”
“Percy?” Nico gasped, barely able to choke out any words.