Creative Corner

@taintededen

See ! She's not so bad!
Good mara. Good mara!

((You have a letter))

@InHeritent

Aww, thank you so much. :D I'm glad you're enjoying them! (And thank you; I tried them on her and said "yes, this is it," out loud to myself. Thanks again!)

@Meonox

Yep. :) There's good inside of her; she just needs to mine past her many layers of salt.

(So I noticed! Thank you so much. ;w; Tomorrow's update is going to be very, very interesting....)

@TaintedEden She was cute, her name was Phoebe. I don't write girls very much anymore, but I'd consider it if I had a good reason to again. But for now I'll stick to my hoard of male characters >.>

@softbun

Literally one of my oldest friends is the exact same way, with a strong preference towards writing male characters. XD That's cool. (Amusingly, my other oldest friend is the opposite, with a strong preference towards writing female characters. Meanwhile, I twiddle my thumbs in the boring old middle.)

@taintededen

I needs to seeeeeee.

And you will make me wait??????

@Meonox

Well, I need to make an update involving it first. ;) Wouldn't want to spoil anyone in advance, now, would I? (But it should definitely happen tomorrow!)

@TaintedEden

Maaaaaaraaaaaa. I always liked this girl against all the logic, even at her worst "kill for the jealousy" moments (yandere problems yeah), and now I like her even more. Stay like that and go forward, Mara, we root for you!

Also Peasley and Sweet. Such a nice sibling pair.

Talstae is So Totally Not Suspicious. She's kinda like a communist spy in America during the Cold War times, I swear. "Corrupting ideas! Poor unequal dragons!"

[center][size=5]Day 41, Part 1[/size] [i]Special thanks for @Meonox for donating a huge variety of surprises, @NyxHeart for writing a letter to the clan, @Achi for donating an accent, @Shanuuk for donating trinkets and apparel, and @Lae for donating potions, apparel, and a gene! I'm overwhelmed with joy and admittedly a bit backlogged, but I'll try to feature everyone's contributions as soon as possible. Thanks again![/i] [item="Jade"][/center] Jac fumbled into the alchemy clearing with a little gift basket, his bright blue eyes darting around. "Umm... Ages?" he called out, his voice shaking upon entering the air. To call this place the 'alchemy clearing' was more of a formality at this point, because Ages had utterly taken it over in a clutter of empty glass bottles, ones filled with volatile solvents, preserves of dead specimens, and more. The only thing clear about it was how clearly messy it all was. There was a clinking of bottles as Ages cleared his work space -- a log which he had cut and preserved through some sort of magical plastination. The other Mirror tilted his glasses as Jac entered and shot him a cordial grin. "Jac! You arrived just in time. I believe I have come across a medical breakthrough. I may have found the next big step in curing Doshima's condition!" As Ages spoke, Jac's eyes flicked to the Arcane dragon's sore paws and tail, all of which were still recovering from the assault of rat bites he had endured. Jac frowned. "Hey. Didn't I order you to take it easy? Your body still looks sore." "A trivial price to pay in the name of good research," Ages replied, attempting to wave off Jac's concerns with a flick of his wrist. It didn't work, but he kept talking anyway. "I admire that you wish to help me, but it's my position to help us all, starting with poor Doshima -- bless her soul -- who lurks, scared and fragile, in the dark. To see such an observant and kind dragoness struggle so wounds me to the depths of my soul, and I [i]refuse[/i] to rest until she is well again." "No, no, I understand," Jac mumbled. His fingers drummed against the side of the basket. Ages's eyes wandered down to it and his ears perked up with intrigue. "What's that?" "Huh?" Jac looked down. "Oh. Doshi and Price found these things today, but since they're on hunting duty, they asked me to deliver it for you." He held out the basket, not meeting Ages in the eye. "They said you'd love it." "Ah, let me see that. Thank you, Jac -- and thank Doshima and Price for me, too." He bounded over to where Jac stood and nabbed the basket from his hand. "Wow!" With a zealous grin, he pulled out a pair of safety goggles and nudged them on top of his head, his tail wagging as it never had before. "These are perfect. And these--" he pulled out some small idols of deer "--oh, I love deer. I feel quite spoiled!" "Glad you like it," Jac murmured. He smiled at little at Ages and turned around, puffing out his chest. "Well. Back to alpha things for me, because I'm a big and strong alpha and everything." "Indeed you are," Ages chuckled. "Take care!" [i]Yeah, right.[/i] Jac slogged his way back towards the main clearing, his tail dragging behind him as Ages resumed his experiments. With a small [i]flop,[/i] he buried his face against the writing slab. He then smacked his head, gently and repeatedly, against its smooth surface. [i]I'm a real alpha. I'm a real alpha. I'm a real alpha.[/i] Try as he might, every time that mantra was repeated, Jac could feel his enthusiasm die a little bit more. With a heavy sigh, he looked over at the stack of letters and packages to sort through. As alpha, it was his job to organize things and keep track of the diplomatic relations of his tribe. Sadly, one of the few things Jac and Ages had in common aside from both being Mirrors was their propensity for organized chaos -- or, in Jac's case -- just "chaos" would be enough to describe it. The one closest to his face was a parcel which contained potions and battle stones. Two letters were attached to it -- one whose address was written entirely in lowercase lettering, and the other was written in a hurried but legible hand. Jac grabbed the first one and gave it a quick read-through: [center]x[/center] [i]hey buddy. since this is an official letter (kinda) from one clan to another, gotta hit some formalities before getting to the point. one, sorry about all the stuff you've been going through. sucks. we know this won't heal the hurt of your guys' heart but hopefully these potions help heal hollowmaw. saw that punch knock the [/i]wind[i] outta him. get it? 'cuz he does the windy thing? (okay, that was totally insensitive - tyrian swatted me on the head. i told her pun therapy might help, but she's not buying it.) two, though you probably don't feel this way, congratulations on your ascension to alpha. i don't need to trance to see that you will do well. trust yourself (tyrian'll give practical advice later); you've learned from the best and the brightest. trust your clan; they have your back. finally, my point: i hope you've realized what kind of spirit adam is. sorry you had to learn the hard way. spirits have fickle natures. as clan mage, i've met my fair share of them. most of 'em have good intentions, but some indubitably mean harm - and not all of them spell that out for you in bright pink runes. i can't tell you what to do, kiddo. (tyrian's telling me not to call you that but y'all seem so young to me.) but just. well. be careful, alright? shield yourself. take precautions. you can't just open yourself up willy-nilly and hope mister nice guy comes along. some spirits play dirty. cause relations to turn [/i]chilly.[i] (get it? 'cause imriel's a - okay, tyrian's telling me to stop with the puns. she says they're not helping.) well, signing off for now. [/i]hope[i] to see you soon - literally. the day the real eden returns will be a great day for you and for all of us cheering you on. (also that last pun was great. c'mon. admit it.) over 'n' out, electrum[/i] [center]x[/center] A weak laugh came out of Jac's throat from the puns. They weren't quite at Hollowmaw's level, but then again, that might have been a good thing, if he asked Anzu about it. The thought prompted him to look over at the Skydancer, who -- unlike Ages -- was obeying Jac's order to rest. A relieved sigh escaped Jac's throat. [i]Thank Stormcatcher.[/i] It was with this slightly brighter mood that Jac approached the second letter: [center]x[/center] [i]Dear Jac: This is Tyrian, matriarch of Clan Scratch. I join Electrum in offering condolences regarding Imriel and congratulations on your ascension to alpha. You have asked for help - the mark of a strong alpha. We hope our package finds use in battle; I know it is but a meager offering from our small clan. Electrum, brilliant mage as he is, has no sense of strategy. He would have you seal off all possibility of contact with those malevolent spirits. I'll say: keep your clan close, enemies closer. If Adam and Eve still believe you under their thrall, [/i]use that to your advantage.[i] If not, keeping their attention on you may make it easier to keep two or three eyes on them. We also see your clan grows day by day. This is paramount: take care of yourself. [/i]Delegate.[i] Especially since the foul creatures still lurk about. They have come so close to success with Imriel. Indubitably, they will strike again. Good luck, and may we meet you at your triumph. Sincerely, Tyrian Enclosures: seventeen[/i] [center]x[/center] As kind as these notes were, something sank in Jac's chest as he read them through. With a slight quiver to his lip, he picked up his own pen and parchment, sighing heavily as he began his quest to compose a reply: [quote="Jac"] Dear Tyrian and Electrum, It is with a very formal and [s]alpha-like[/s] [s]mature[/s] professional way that I offer you guys my [s]thanks[/s] gratitude, without any smiley-faces because this is a serious exchange between clans. Potions are [s]good[/s] [b]necessary[/b] things to have on hand. [s]Also[/s] Coincidentally, we have dragons who could use those battle stones you sent for us. Thank you. But... between you and me... one high official to another high official... are you happy being a leader? Do your clanmates listen to you? Do they respect you? I bet they do, because you seem like a strong alpha and mage. You two have done stuff to earn respect. I can tell. Meanwhile, my crown got stuck on my head. So that's... something. Anyway, I really didn't mean to offend either of you by asking those questions. I'm just thinking about stuff. Something I'm learning is that thinking can actually be worse in some ways than not thinking. Does that make sense? [s]Yikes, I'm rambling. I'm probably just wasting your time.[/s] We of the Clan of Hope would love to hear from you again sometime soon. [s]Hugs[/s] Sincerely, Jac, the [s]accidental[/s] alpha [/quote] With a little sigh, he rolled up the letter and walked into Hollowmaw's lair. In it, he appeared just about ready to send another reply elsewhere. Upon Jac's entry, the Ridgeback looked to him and shot him a newly-toothed grin. "Hey, hey, hey. If it isn't our little lightning bolt. Want to [i]strike[/i] up a conversation?" A wistful smile curled on Jac's lips. "Just for a minute," he said. "I need you to deliver this letter for me, but first I wanted to congratulate you on the new teeth." "Thanks, pal." Hollowmaw took the letter from Jac's paw and continued to smirk just as broadly as he always would. "Did you know these were actual diamonds? I had no idea until Barda came in and told me just now." "Oh." Jac's eyes widened. "Is Barda around here?" "Nah. She went to say hey to Suck and the kids. Apparently Peasley's got a new friend. Given his love for plants, I suppose you could say that she's [i]growing[/i] on him." A small chuckle escaped Jac's lips. "Good one." Hollowmaw quirked a spiked brow at him. "Apparently not. You're one of the two dragons who breaks down laughing at my rapier wit instead of groaning in agony." He leaned forward, but not so close as to poke Jac's eye out with his sharp snout. "Something the matter, little guy? Oh-- or should I say, little alpha guy?" Jac flinched. "N-no. You don't have to call me...." At that moment, the shadows outside were overwhelmed by a radiant pink light. The ground shook around them and the dens rattled at the force of some kind of ethereal quake. Walls cracked and dragons tumbled as the tremor spread around them. Hollowmaw acted fast, shoving Jac out as his small den became little more than a heap of rubble. "Ages!" came a scream from the alchemy clearing. It was Barda's voice, and it pierced above the boom like a cry for help. As the quake silenced, Jac and Hollowmaw looked at each other. Jac spoke first. "Shouldn't we--?" "Yes." And with that, the two tore like wind and lightning towards the alchemy clearing. [center][b]To be continued...[/b] [item="Greystone Deer"][item="Orange Protective Eyewear"][item="Health Potion"][item="Boulder Bolt"][item="Freezing Slash"][/center] [i]Because there are so many items which will be featured in today's two-parter, I opted to put the ones displayed in this half first and the ones displayed in the second half... well, later, when I post it. The first two items were from @OverTheWolf, and the latter three (plus the letters) were from @nuttysaladtree! Thanks to you both for your patience with me. In terms of duplicates, I received five Greystone Deer and fifteen Health Potions. The first half of this two-parter was a little tame, but everyone who loves crazy drama and changes will hopefully adore the latter half! :) However, it may take a little while for it to come out today. My apologies in advance. [b]Lae:[/b] Thank goodness! I always worry that poor Mara doesn't quite get enough love. You've reassured me some. XD I hope she keeps pushing forth positively, too! I'm also glad that you're liking Peasley, Sweet, and Not Suspicious At All What Are You Talking About Talstae. I like the idea that she's like a spy; since her name reminded me tangentially of Tolstoy, I sometimes picture her talking with a Russian accent, even though that wouldn't make any sense in-story. Oh, well. [b]OverTheWolf:[/b] Hilariously, their hatchling previews are overall super nice, so... maybe. ;) You never know when things might turn around. Also, the fact that Mara -- who craved after princes and knights -- might go for the court jester is oddly appealing to me. I can sense the plot bunnies multiplying as we speak.[/i] [size=1]@InHeritent @tahwarts @Elzerei @Silverhame @Whimzica @PaintedLiger @fairyhalo @221bdisneystreet @Deathwolf555 @Skyeset @Ambrose @GreyMoth @End3rStorm @ScienceGal8 @wintergreenroses @Abysea @softbun @Amerigland[/size]

@TaintedEden Baldwin is being oddly nice, with two materials in a row. Dang. I'm glad though! Character development is always good. Jac is an adorable alpha. Also I support Maramaw 100% too, just saying.

If Talstae ends up being next weeks alpha I will laugh.