About school:
I'm intimidated! But I'm going to do my best to have fun and be productive this quarter! I'll be taking Physiology, Ecology, Physics, and [some Education class that sounds a like my cousin's description of Theory of Knowledge].
I haven't settled on which clubs I'll be actively joining, but I know I'll be in the Writer's Circle, and probably Archery Club as well (need to stack up some reference for all those archer characters I have! XD
In preparation for this insane upcoming workload, I've already left the Tea-Essence roleplay group on deviantART. It's heartbreaking to do so, but I know I won't be able to keep up.
Finally, if you've visited the Index page of this blog anytime recently, you might have been surprised to see that there's a finish date for ECA! The day before school started (Wednesday) I finally finished all the entries to the 100 themes and all the accompanying comment blurbs! Thus even if I'm swamped with classes, there'll definitely be a post every week this quarter! (Though, if I do have something, I'll post that first to stay timely XD).
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| It's official! |
My current idea (with not a lot of actual thought) is to finish up the collaboration project now. Further than that, I am working on plans for Dream's Edge, for rewriting during NaNoWriMo 2013. As for the next active project to be posted on here I'm unsure of currently. Sun Dagger is up there, but so is another little idea that popped into my head this summer. Maybe they're both be sporadic pop-up posts running simultaneously! XD
I'll leave further closing comments for the closing comment blurb. For now, please enjoy parts 45-49!
PREVIOUS SET (36-44)
45. Heart Song
“You come here a lot.”
The thief boy again. Arlin recognized his voice. She didn’t want to talk to him, but it was wrong to ignore.
“Please…go away.”
“Something happened to you during the attack.”
Thoughts burrowed through her head; she thought her skull might explode.
“You should see a healer.”
Visions swept by like lost memories that weren’t hers.
“It’s probably not curable.”
“You’re sure?”
Her heart dripped icy comfort. Why ice? Water wasn’t even her element.Sapphire dragon. Ice skates. Needles and cloth. Ice bow-blade.
“I’m going to find a new place. Please…leave me alone.”---
46. Reflections
The only sound was the ticking of a hundred clocks around her. No one was with her this time. She hadn’t told Anuna she was coming.
“Pixies have healing powers,” her words echoed in the Room of Clocks, like they did in the dreamscape, though they never had before. She looked around and imagined Epsilona perched on the sundial. Only her. She could have one imaginary friend, right?
“Most do,” came the mental reply.
“Could you cheer Arlin up?”
“Depends on her situation.”
“…Do you exist?”
“Yes.”
“…Am I insane?”
“No. You’re gifted.”
“…That—…That’s not what the scientist said.”---
47. Perfection
Celestine let fly an energy arrow, leaving spots that momentarily charred the moving bullseye.
“6 in a row? Not bad.”
Arlin danced in as another bolt found its mark.. “ECA, I think we’re safe! No attacks in a fortnight.”
They were quiet, taking in each other’s relieved expressions.
Moments later another gleam zipped under Arlin’s floating bed, followed quickly by another. Arlin cheered.
Elysia crossed her arms, watching the bed bounce. “Want to be careful there?”
“Sorry!”
“Arlin?”
“Huh?”
Presently the tenth arrow hit home. Arlin squealed. “Perfect score!”
“Not perfection though,” Celestine stowed her bow.
“It’s perfection through imperfection.”---
48. Everyday Magic
Arlin jumped off her bed gleefully.
“My turn!” She straightened her arms, palms up and opened a glowing gate that she sent spiraling, blowing papers and blankets around.
Celestine giggled as a pillow smacked Elysia in the face before following with a non-gate water charm that froze into an ice sculpture of Epsilona.
“Ooooo…cute! Your turn!”
Elysia raised an eyebrow at their antics but conceded. From her pocket shot a small metal disc that upon contact glowed, stuck tight and erupted in vines that climbed the walls.
Arlin clapped with delight before summoning Murantagh; ECA’s practice continued merrily.---
49. Umbrella
Around her a breeze stirred; ahead her a thin rail marked where the land dropped away. Her schoolbag hung on a tree that framed an old trail.
A droplet landed on the rail, a hair’s breadth from her hand. More followed; she started a water-repellant charm. But the moment she conjured the thought, her mind exploded. She must have screamed as she collapsed, slipping to inches of death.
Distantly, someone called her name, grasped her wrist, pulled her out of the rain; yet within her, the storm of visions raged on. She clung desperately to the umbrella of warmth.
Comment Blurbs:
45. Heart Song
A short while after the fire attack on the campus (quelled successfully by Celestine and Elysia), Arlin is in her usual place, meditating by the gate, when Aldis approaches her. He knows there’s something bothering her, and thinks she should consult a healer about it, but she denies that it’s curable. She avoids his questioning and resolves to find another place to meditate if he keeps bothering her. However, since the attack, she’s had strange visions plaguing her. Weirdest still, her mind seems to be geared towards a water element instead of her usual air-based magic.
In version one of this, I was worried that Arlin was a little rude and out of character. Hopefully this has been mended.
I had a really tough time writing this scene in 100 words. I went for the flashes of memory coming in between lines of dialogue, but it may just be confusing.
In case the dialogue isn’t clear:
Aldis (AM): You come here a lot
Arlin (AY): Please…go away
AM: Something happened to you during the attack. You should see a healer.
AY: It’s probably not curable.
AM: You’re sure?
AY: I’m going to find a new place. Please…leave me alone.
And typing that out, I just realized Arlin’s initials spell AMY. That’s amazing. :)
Elysia: EIK (eeiik!)
Celestine: CSS (ahahaha)
Anuna: AE
Aldis: AM (radio).
Vesper: VJW or Dr. VAN (lol)
Rhys: RV (lol!! That works so well with Dr. VAN! Hahahaha)
Aldis’s was supposed to be AM to go with Fiana (FM), (but Fiana became FL soooo :P) and I think Dr. VAN was semi-intentional as well, but the rest are just hilarious coincidence.
46. Reflection
This is a little break from drama and action: Celestine is just talking with the pixie Epsilona in the Room of Clocks. Despite enjoying Epsilona’s company and trying to justify her as “an imaginary friend”, Celestine still has that nagging doubt that she’s insane. For clarification, Celestine is the one asking all the questions.
47. Perfection
Celestine practices in their room and Arlin comes in with the news that it’s been two weeks since the fire attack and there haven’t been any other attacks on the campus in two weeks. Celestine’s preoccupation with being dead-center accurate all the time is also revealed.
You’ll need script for this one. I even need to figure it out sometimes T_T
EIK: Six in a row? Not bad.
AMY: ECA, I think we’re safe! No attacks in a fortnight!
(Celestine shoots two arrows under Arlin’s floating bed and Arlin cheers, causing the bed to bounce.)
EIK: Want to be careful there?
CSS: Sorry!
EIK: Arlin?
AMY: Huh? (Celestine shoots a tenth bullseye) Perfect score!
CSS: Not perfection though.
EIK: It’s perfection through imperfection.
That last line is a little odd in the context, and it actually won’t be revisited until the last 20 themes, and by a different character, but I threw it in because of the theme title.
Celestine’s preoccupation with being perfect would have to do with her insecurity that she’s insane: She figures that the most she can do is hide this insanity behind a facade of being always accurate in her archery and everything. Whenever she slips up and doesn’t get a good grade, she gets insecure that someone will think she’s worthless or something. This explains Celestine’s frustration with calculus even more (from post 23. Failure).
48. Everyday Magic
ECA practices :). Arlin starts off the practice with an air-elemental gate, that sends blankets and pillows flying about. Knowing Arlin, this probably helps to clean up the place more than mess it up XD). Celestine knows a little elemental magic and uses this to make a rough ice sculpture of Epsilona. Arlin just thinks its a random generic pixie though. Elysia isn’t as enthusiastic, but still reveals a small disc that sends vines sprawling over the place. To finish this scene (but not the practice), Arlin summons her anima to the scene.
So the original idea was to just depict someone (probably Arlin) doing something nice for the Campus Beautification Project or something, but I really wanted to just do a scene where everyone’s spamming abilities. Thus, this post was more to satisfy that -_-. Not plot-conducive at all, but definitely fun to write.
49. Umbrella
I do have a plot to continue though, so this post brings us back from the peaceful daily life scenes of the last three entries and back to the problem introduced in Heart Song: Arlin’s visions since the fire attack.
In this scene, Arlin has found a new meditation spot at the end of a not-clearly- marked trail. It’s a small cleared corner on a cliff. Arlin is just relaxing when it starts raining. She starts a spell to repel the water, but the moment she does, the visions come back with a punch. She screams as she falls near the cliff edge. Luckily, someone is nearby, pulled her out of the rain and away from the edge. Despite not knowing who this is, Arlin clings to them, fighting the battle within her head.
Vesper Institute’s campus is really large, spanning over three campuses at the elementary, intermediate (high school), and university levels. They are positioned in a triangle overlooking a vast valley, all of which is considered Institute property. Arlin moved her nightly meditation spot from the university gate to a cliff overlooking the valley and the river running through it. (I suppose you could say Rhys’s family is very rich lol)
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