Creative Corner

@TaintedEden
Murderous sword-wielding fae on a rampage! Hide yo sisters, hide yo tun-tuns!

It's a shame that Tally met her end, and by her trained to kill lil' sis. Even though she was rather dangerous fanatic, it looked like she might reconsider her approach. I don't know how much of Lagoons actions are caused by her sisters' teachings or her character alone, but boy, would she regret it now.

And now Doshi has to handle it O.o

@TaintedEden

Holy Windsinger. Didn't see this one coming.

I... actually like Lagoon more now though. Is it awful? But a Creepy Lifeless Child is no more, she's an actual dragon now, a dragon with feelings. Even if these feelings are just hatred and loneliness and jealousy; even if she herself doesn't understand it yet... (And I never liked Talstae.)

Also I don't think we'll need to protect Peasley from Lagoon. Remember: yandere ^^ Peasley will be safe, I think. Others, though. Not so much.

First of all, I just want to say that I'm floored by the number of comments I got regarding the last update. I had to leave pretty much right after posting it and couldn't quite get back on until just now. I'm actually speechless -- and also impressed by the wide range of reactions that I got regarding Talstae's and Lagoon's characters. It would take me a really long time to respond to them individually, but I just want to say that I'm actually kind of giddy that I got such a wild response. :) Thank you all so much!

Intriguingly, at least one of you managed to peg down something important that will show up later... but I won't say who. ;)

Now, onto a bit of news: yes, there will be an update (perhaps even a multi-parter!) for today, but after this, there will be no official Eden-sodes next week. I will have a mini update on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but the reason I won't be writing story parts is because it will be midterms week and I have not only two difficult tests to study for, but two papers to write -- one of which is a minimum of eight pages long -- and a set of journals to catch up on. If I tried to fit Tainted Eden with all of this going on, I have a feeling I would end up disappointing all of us with shorter more meager writing due to stress -- and that just wouldn't do!

This hiatus will start tomorrow and last until midnight on November 5th. Afterwards, I will resume updates as usual! :)

To address some things preemptively:


Also, two quick reminders: first, Talstae remains unclaimed for now, and she will be exalted Sunday evening if no one wants to keep her (although that's totally fine, since I know how polarizing she was!); and second, submissions for Shade-touched Halloween songs also ends on Sunday evening, so throw them my way if you want them to get in!

Lastly, I gave Agnes some apparel! :) I'll be updating her profile and giving her a spot in "The Living" section once I'm done with today's Eden-sode.

I'm really sorry about the hiatus (and the probable future one during finals week), but I feel it will ensure that the story retains its quality overall and thus I believe it to be a tactical decision. :) I hope you all understand, and thanks again for following Tainted Eden!


@Meonox @InHeritent @tahwarts @Elzerei @Silverhame @Whimzica @PaintedLiger @Achi @OverTheWolf @fairyhalo @221bdisneystreet @Deathwolf555 @Skyeset @Ambrose @GreyMoth @End3rStorm @NyxHeart @ScienceGal8 @wintergreenroses @Abysea @softbun @Amerigland @Shanuuk @Lae @Purpleberries @Delmaria

[center][size=5]Day 49[/size] [i]Special thanks goes to @nuttysaladtree for donating a gene![/i] [item="Red Delicious Apple"] [i]Honeysuckle | Peasley | Lagoon[/i][/center] "I'm telling you, Ages, I really think Imriel needs to stay in the chamber." The Mirror rubbed his temples as he put down the orb he was tampering with. It was his present invention, one that he had hoped would help alleviate Doshima's gooey problem for good, allowing her scales to gleam normally and without a hint of purple. With a slight glare, he turned his head and shot a look at Anzu, whose expression was not tentative, but firm. Ages scoffed. "And I'm telling you that she's ready to head out -- supervised, of course." Anzu fiddled with a seed pod, crushing it in his palms. The plant hissed up at him unnaturally, and then seemed to die under his force. "I understand that you get engrossed in your work, but please tell me you were listening when Barda gave us her report." He dunked the crushed seeds in water, watching as their essences were absorbed in the drink. "She said that Imriel didn't seem to be getting too much better." An annoyed frown quirked on Ages's lips at Anzu's tone. His own words became a bit more terse. "Indeed. That's because her progress while trapped in there has reached a ceiling -- no pun intended. If I'm recalling correctly, Barda [i]also[/i] approached us with the news that Imriel was no longer recoiling away from her the way she might have towards a stranger." Feathered ears flattening, Anzu sent Ages an irritated glance. "Ages, she tried to [i]murder[/i] Hollow. I care for Imriel a lot, but until she's better, I doubt the merit of letting her outside." Ages, who had been trying to meddle with the orb, scrunched his face up and gave Anzu a damning glare. "First of all, I did say that I wanted her supervised, didn't I? More importantly, Imriel cannot stay cooped up forever. Her progress is at a gods-damned standstill. Would you feel like getting better if all you saw each day was a cell's interior, illuminated briefly by candlelight? Forget improving one's mental well-being -- most dragons would go mad under such conditions!" "I've been observing her." Anzu corked the small vial with the seeds and water and shook it like he was strangling its life away. "She doesn't eat. Doesn't talk. Barely sleeps. But even that's a far cry better from trying to kill a clanmate. Her volatility is the lowest it's been since the Shade corrupted her, and I can't bear the thought of her getting loose only to snap back into that horrible state of mind." A sour scoff escaped Ages's throat. "Methinks you just like observing her a bit [i]too[/i] much." Anzu dropped the vial against his workspace. Though it didn't break, it let out a nasty clinking sound which grated the Skydancer's ears. His eyes snapped towards Ages, who was rubbing some sort of pink tonic all along the orb. "Ex[i]cuse[/i] me?" he squawked. "I believe you heard me correctly, Anzu." Ages rotated the orb and set it on a pedestal, reaching underneath the flattened log bench and grabbing another unnatural elixir to presumably treat it with. "You may consider me young and inexperienced, but I'm no fool. Your eyes are set on her, aren't they?" Anzu crunched his fist against the vial so hard, it nearly broke. His face was colored darkly. "I would appreciate it if you stuck to the subject at hand." [i]Looks like I struck a nerve.[/i] As Ages massaged the mixture against the orb, a wry smile of victory spread on his face. "I wonder what Jac would think." Anzu slammed his fist against the workspace. "Stick to the subject, Ages!" With a small yelp, Ages steadied the orb, which had very nearly fallen onto the hard rocky ground. His lips curled in a snarl and his back bristled as he stared Anzu down. "As much as I appreciate your heightened emotional state," he hissed, not sounding appreciative at all, "please try not to disturb the table. If this falls and breaks, it would be a major step backward in curing Doshima's skin condition." Anzu's eyes rolled so far into the back of his head that Ages wondered if Anzu could see the inside of his featherbrain. "Okay, well, since you seem so keen on changing the subject, I'll bite. Please tell me how on Sornieth you think that [i]contraption[/i] will help Doshi." Ages set it down tenderly on its fragile stand and sat up straight, looking on at Anzu the way a condescending professor might towards his students. "I'm glad you asked," he huffed. "Recently, I had a breakthrough regarding the alchemical structure of her 'condition' and have concluded that it is the result of occult magics. Since I have broken down its structure, I have devised this device, which -- once properly treated -- can function as a conduit to turn this curse into little more than residue before it even has the chance to seep from Doshima's pores. It will ensure her a life without fear, lurking and recoiling from everyone's eyes. Because -- unlike [i]some[/i] dragons -- I believe that remaining in shadows can do nothing but harm." "Well, who's to say that your blasted magic won't end up hurting her more? Two wrongs won't make a right." Anzu gesticulated towards the vial. "You see this [i]natural[/i] solution I'm concocting? It's my firm belief that it could help her far more than your precious magic ever could." Ages pulled his paws away from the orb, clenching them into fists so hard that one could hear his knuckles crack. "Are you implying that I wield dark magic, Anzu? After all you've taught me, I'd expect you'd know more about why I do what I do and why I love what I do. Dark magic is something that comes from passion, true, but not of the passion I possess." "I believe you're sidestepping the real issue." "And I believe your method is primitive and ineffectual," Ages countered. "Perhaps it [i]won't[/i] be ineffectual if you gave it a real chance!" Anzu snarled. He slammed his paws against the workspace, vial in his fist and a scowl on his face. "We don't have [i]time[/i] to chance the natural. If the synthetic is proven to work fine, why would you wheel us back so far?" Ages mimicked Anzu's actions, barely hearing the orb wobble. "Who knows what awful side-effects the synthetic will have on her?" Anzu squawked, waving the vial around in one fist, as if he were readying to throw it at Ages. "Implying your adorable natural solutions can't lead to side-effects like hormone imbalance, poisoning, or -- I don't know -- [i]death?[/i] Great freaking logic, there!" Ages slammed his fist on the table. This was enough. The orb hopped off its pedestal from the force of the motion, and as Anzu waved the vial around, it crashed against the orb's glass. Both of the males silenced completely and watched in horror as the solution coated the orb. Its mysterious glass glowed a foul green, lighting the whole clearing in an eerie light. "Oh," Anzu mumbled. "Oh, crap." "You [i]think?[/i]" Ages asked, about ready to give Anzu a piece of his mind, when all of a sudden the forest was pierced with a feral, bloody shriek. They silenced again. They looked to one another, green eyes against pink, and for a brief instant they had synergy again. Ages grabbed the hot and glowing orb and followed Anzu in pursuit of the scream. [center]x[/center] As Lagoon shuffled towards the campsite, she was intercepted by Sweet. "Hi, Goonie," she chirruped, landing delicately atop a tree branch. "Have you seen Tally anywhere? I wanted to talk to her about something." With the precise, emotionless face she almost always carried, Lagoon shook her head. "No." Sweet frowned. "You haven't?" "No." Eyes wandering across Lagoon's frame, Sweet only then seemed to suddenly realize that those so-called stains she saw in the shadows of Eden were actually remnants of nearly-fresh blood. "Uhh...." "I'm going to find Peasley now," Lagoon murmured. She began to proceed forth as if she weren't even covered in the offending liquid. "W-wait!" Sweet trilled. She flitted towards Lagoon, stopping the other Fae once more in her tracks. Lagoon's breathing grew a bit heavy and Sweet could feel her spine chill, but she spoke bravely in spite of it all. "Why are you covered in blood? What happened?" A small smile traced Lagoon's lips. Sweet would have almost found it nice to see Lagoon express emotion if it weren't so utterly terrifying to her. "I encountered a monster in the woods and slayed it. Now it will never threaten us." Sweet shivered a little and hugged herself. "O-oh. All right, then." [i]Knowing Lagoon, she killed it in the messiest way possible. No wonder she's covered in blood.[/i] She tried to take reassurance that this was all there was, expending her best efforts to look on the bright side of things. [i]I mean, Lagoon has never had a reason to lie before, right?[/i] She gave her a shaky smile. "Sorry. I'll get out of your way. It just startled me to see you coated like that." Lagoon didn't immediately proceed forward. She nodded, her smile waning away. "Perhaps I should clean my armor before seeing Peasley." Sweet nodded like an excitable doll. "That might be wise." [i]That way she won't cause a scare.[/i] "Thank you." It was the first time that Lagoon had ever thanked Sweet, and she watched as the other Fae seemed to curdle at her words. It didn't matter, though. Cleaning up was all Lagoon needed to do, and then she could say hello to Peasley without scaring him. Her raging emotions fluttered into the tender wingbeats of a caged bird. [i]To frighten him would kill me.[/i] As she walked away, Sweet stood back and watched. There was something different about Lagoon's wings; no longer were they a solid spring green, but they now seemed to carry claw-like shadows which crawled upwards, like a demon's hands reaching out from Hell. It was etched, permanent, like a specter following Lagoon now wherever she walked. Sweet had a fleeting thought that she was no longer safe. Then, checking herself, she talked herself out of the notion and flew like a paranoid hatchling back home. Meanwhile, Lagoon proceeded downstream, away from camp, so that Talstae's blood would not pass through the stream at the den and cause worry to Peasley. Cleaning herself was a thorough task, but one which proved successful after a solid half an hour of scrubbing and silence. Just as she set her armor out to dry, a letter warped magically onto a nearby rock, glowing faintly of the Arcane. It was addressed to "L" and was written in a somewhat bitter scrawl. With no more surprise or excitement than ever, Lagoon picked it up mechanically and opened it: [center]x[/center] [i]dear lagoon, heard you've earned your stripes. congrats. may the darkness of your new wings echo the darkness of your soul - if you even have one. [/i]You Kinslayer.[i] that the earthshaker's own daughter would do this [/i]shakes[i] me to my core. electrum[/i] [center]x[/center] Lagoon eyed the letter with the same indifference as she eyed the world. It dawned on her that she could have used Talstae's blood to write a reply, had she not washed it off earlier. Wondering if she had perhaps missed a spot, she looked inside her armor and around her body to see if there was any stain she could harvest for a response. After searching for five minutes, she found a little bit lodged in the back of her helmet, wedged in the nose hole that allowed her to breathe. Wetting it a bit with some water, she took the blood and wrote Electrum a simple reply: [quote="Lagoon"] [i]Thank you. - L[/i] [/quote] She allowed the letter to tumble to the ground, absorbed into the earth by her magic to pop through the ground to its recipient. Just as Lagoon finished that and began to put on her armor again, a violent howl ripped through Eden's air. With a blank blink, the Fae's ruffled ears twitched around to locate where the sound was coming from. It was a female's scream, and at first it struck her as unimportant; then the notion that Peasley might be with her and thus might be in danger gave Lagoon a rush of adrenaline. Her breathing grew sharp and jagged, and she donned her armor more quickly than she ever had before. [i]Peasley will be safe,[/i] she thought as she took off towards the sound. [i]Or else.[/i] [center]x[/center] "Check it out, Ma," Agnes hummed. "We match!" She had dressed herself in things to emphasize stealth and silence -- things that Doshima would have never put on herself. But this is not what Agnes was referring to. She gestured to the headdress she wore, one which covered her face and made herself look beastly and proud. A stab of self-consciousness tore through Doshima as she readjusted her own headdress, but she chuckled and grinned so as to not make Agnes uncomfortable. "So we do. You look amazing." "You know, it's funny," Agnes said, tipping her headdress back to give her mother a forward frown. "Now that I think of it, we do more than just match in appearance. We're both going to use these headdresses for similar reasons -- to hide. But where I'll use this to blend in with the beasts and shadows, you use yours to cover your face from the eyes of our kindred dragons." These words struck Doshima like lightning. The Guardian froze and gaped soundlessly for a moment at her charge, who quirked a scaly brow towards her as she placed her paws on her hips. Then, forcing herself to stay calm, Doshima chuckled weakly. "I, uh, I don't, I mean... I don't know what you're...." "Ma. I love you, but you're a crappy liar." Doshima was used by now to her charge being supremely blunt, but this was another level even for her. A strangled wheeze escaped her throat and she winced, covering her eyes with her paws. "Am I that transparent?" "Yes." Doshima's breath shook a little bit. As she struggled to gather her thoughts together, she felt Agnes's paw against her knee, rubbing it gently. "And you know what, Ma?" Agnes added, her tone much more tender. "I really don't think you need to hide at all. Pa doesn't either, for that matter." The Guardian's face heated up. "P-Price isn't your Pa, Agnes." "Maybe not, but he [i]should[/i] be." With a sassy sniff, the Bogsneak tugged a little on Doshima's arm to pull away the paw from her right eye. Doshima looked down to see her adoptive daughter glaring up at her. "The tension between you two is just... it's [i]so....[/i]" She made a wild hand gesture and stuck out her tongue. "[i]Blugh![/i]" Doshima flinched. "Blugh?" "The [i]blugh-iest.[/i]" Agnes asserted. A heavy sigh whistled past Doshima's lips. Her eyes flickered down to her paws, avoiding meeting Agnes's electric gaze. "Be that as it may, Agnes... I really... I can't show myself in public like this. I look disgusting." Agnes harrumphed. "You know what, Ma? You're the [i]only[/i] important dragon in your life who feels that way. Everyone else who means something to you doesn't. Not me, not Price, not Hollow -- not even Ages. Literally all of us are here to support you, all right?" Doshima replied only with a whimper. "Come on, Ma." Agnes gave her a reassuring smile, lifting away the paw covering Doshima's right eye. Her wings flapped conservatively as she flitted before Doshima's face. "I don't want to see you hiding away in the dark anymore." A small gulp traveled down the Guardian's throat. Anxiety tore her insides apart, threatening to undo Doshima then and there, right in front of her charge. She lifted her paws towards the headdress, but they shook so much that she could scarcely sense whether or not they actually grabbed it. Her daughter's expectant look barely tempered the pounding of her heart, but Doshima felt like it might be enough. [i]Do it for her,[/i] she told herself, gripping the ends of her headdress. The moment she did, a cracking pain coursed through her body. Doshima let out a sharp gasp and a bloodcurdling scream. Like beasts struggling to escape their imprisonment, the goo which had for weeks been suppressed beneath her scales ripped out of her with a primal vengeance. She could feel her skin tear open as it escaped, engulfing Doshima's body and wings with treacherous slime. The sensation of insects crawling upon open wounds made her panic, and she immediately let go of her headdress and collapsed, trying to scratch away the painful excretions. "Ma!" Agnes screamed, trying to step forth to free her mother from this gooey prison. "Don't touch me!" Doshima shrieked, her cry tearing through Eden like a sonic boom. Agnes flinched, recoiling at once and looking on at her adoptive mother like a deer would a bright light. Just as this happened, everyone but Imriel rushed into the main clearing where all of this took place. "Do!" the Guardian heard, but she barely even acknowledged Price approaching her as she howled once again. "Let me die," she cried, feeling like her body was rending in two. "If I die, the pain will end." By now, the gooey mass was so great that her clothes were sliding off, hear headdress and crown carried down a stream of slop and into a puddle by her feet. "Somebody -- anybody -- do something!" Agnes called out, tears falling as she bore witness to the agony of her mother. Then the clearing was enveloped in darkness. [center][item="Secondary Gene: Stripes"][/center] [i]Thanks again to [b]nuttysaladtree[/b] for making Lagoon all the more powerful. ;) We appreciate the contribution. Be sure to notify the rest of the college squad, too! As I noted in the mini-update, next week will not have an alpha due to the hiatus. The next alpha will be announced on Sunday, November 6th, along with an update that signals the return of the main story! I hope you're all as excited for this as I am. Enjoy the cliffhanger. :) [b]@Shanuuk:[/b] Aww, thank you. ^^ I'm glad you feel that way. @ Everybody I gave that preview to -- this will show up on Day 50 as the hiatus ends! I'm sorry for the delay, but given the craziness, it was hard to work it in, exactly. ^^; I'm so sorry. Also, apparently I forgot the stats? Oops! I fixed it now![/i] [center]Starting Funds: 383270 Ending Funds: 383790 Coliseum Changes: Lagoon (Level 6) Peasley (Level 5) Peasley earned elemental Slash + Might Fragment[/center] [size=1]@Meonox @InHeritent @tahwarts @Elzerei @Silverhame @Whimzica @PaintedLiger @Achi @OverTheWolf @fairyhalo @221bdisneystreet @Deathwolf555 @Skyeset @Ambrose @GreyMoth @End3rStorm @NyxHeart @ScienceGal8 @wintergreenroses @Abysea @softbun @Amerigland @Lae @Purpleberries @Delmaria[/size]

@TaintedEden

Of course, it has to be a cliffhanger right before a hiatus :D Good luck with your tests!

@Whimzica / @Lae

Haha, sorry. XD Thanks for the luck, though! I'll need it!

@TaintedEden I want to protest having a cliffhanger right before the hiatus! It's just not fair. :( :( :(

@TaintedEden

Oh this isn't okay. First Tastae bites the dust and now this cliffhanger with Doshima? That's just cruuuuuel.