Tag: finnraal and the piper

NaNoWriMo Day 30

Neon BrightLeave a comment

It’s a win!

I made it to the end of the goal despite a cold really kicking my butt for the last half of the month. I’m so pleased with how it came together, especially with all the new characters and the perspective(s) of a plural system.

Finnraal did a good job. It’s time for him to get some much deserved rest.

Word Count: 50040

Excerpt:

“No,” he said wearily, revealing none of his qualms. “I’m afraid that is a mission too large for someone like me.”

“But … you saved all of us!”

Finnraal sighed. “Someone else made me aware of the situation. He told me a lot of children were at risk here.” He glanced down at where Elodie hid timidly behind him. “My mission is to make sure kids like us don’t grow up alone.”

The young man pursed his lips and glanced Elodie’s way, and then back at the group of young people milling about near the center of the room. “There’s not all that many of us,” he said, some doubt creeping into his voice again. “And we’re all so fresh. What if they don’t listen?”   

Finnraal smiled. “If Eshin here has taught me anything, it’s that people your age have no trouble at all making yourselves known and heard,” he quipped. “And I’m not that much older than you, if you’re after credentials. I would have to shout just as loudly, but my voice is more useful when it’s quiet.”

NaNoWriMo Day 29

Neon BrightLeave a comment

Happy (late) Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrated it! I had a nice quiet day with my mom decorating cookies yesterday. And then today I’ve slept a lot and avoided any sort of stores. Oh, and also I’ve made a lot of progress on my NaNo project, which is awesome. I don’t usually like running right up until the end of the month with it, but the remainder is pretty manageable and I’m honestly really proud of how much I got written with a brand new story and batch of characters.

Word Count: 49386

Excerpt: 

“Finn?” Eshin tilted his head to try to meet his gaze.

Finnraal didn’t know how long he’d been standing there staring. His body ached and he was tired right to his bones. He shook himself off and took a steadying breath, if only to stay awake until he could get himself home safely.

“Still Finn, right?” Eshin asked again, this time quieter and with a deeper understanding.

Finnraal nodded absently, then blinked. “Yes. Finn, at the moment. Mostly.”

Eshin smiled. “I wanted to introduce you to someone I met when I arrived here,” he said, before turning just enough to reveal the small figure hiding shyly behind him.

It was a young human child, wispy and shaky. One of her hands had been replaced with a mechanical one. The fingers on it twitched in constant, jerky motions as if not calibrated quite right.

“This is Elodie,” Eshin said quietly, even as Finnraal knelt down to be on her level. “Elodie, this is Finn. The one I told you about.”

Elodie scanned Finnraal with a guarded expression in her too young and too knowing eyes. She’d been through quite enough already, and she inched closer to Eshin before she found the bravery to speak. “You have a house for … little kids like me?” she said. Her voice shook as if she might cry at any second.

Finnraal smiled and held out a hand. “Little kids like you, and big kids like Eshin,” he said. “Sometimes it gets a little noisy, but if you don’t mind having a lot of brothers and sisters, it’s not so bad.”

NaNoWriMo Day 25

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I’m making a post before I start writing today to prove I’m still alive and working on Nano! It’s just been very busy and I keep finishing up words late at night and just conking out in bed. It’s been … a crazy month, to put it lightly. But! The story is really coming along and I’m very excited about that. 😀

Riddle continues to be a snarky little smokeball. Who dares cause mischief when it’s been clearly established that he is the mischief boss?

Word Count: 44863

Excerpt:

The world always looked so solid when he fronted, or came too close to one of the others. Their perception of everything was so grounded. Riddle, as a child of the abstract, tended to view everything by the webs that tangled between them when he was in the inner world.

There were almost no webs in sight here, which offered him a very obvious clue.

“Someone trying to mess?” he called out. He didn’t have a mouth or a voice box with which to speak, but all the same he conveyed a coy yet threatening tone without issue. He roiled with glee when wherever he was didn’t even bother to echo his question back to him.

“Come out, come out, wherever you aaaaare,” he hissed. This time, he indulged in the sinister tone he’d used as a pure habit back when the body was much younger. Back then, he’d been truly nasty to his headmates on occasion.

He was well past that, but that didn’t mean he’d let the old skills go to waste. Something was afoot, and he was already following one of the webs tugging at his awareness. At the end of that link, he would find answers to who exactly thought they could cause trouble in his headspace.

That was his job, and everyone else had kindly agreed to it.

NaNoWriMo Day 19

Neon BrightLeave a comment

Boy was I tired today. I wasn’t sure I would get very many words done today, but then I started writing a couple of important scenes to make sure I’d have plenty of motivation, and I actually surpassed my daily goal! That’s always a good feeling.

This is an odd scene for Kala. She’s not the same race as the body, so her culture shock can be twofold in some ways.

Word Count: 38261

Excerpt:

Kala glanced down and frowned in confusion at what she found. She was in her own appearance, something she never saw outside the inner world. Tall, slender, with thick black curls piled high on her head. Gold jewelry and gems adorned every finger of both hands, and there was a pleasant warmth in her cheeks as if she’d snuck some whiskey.

Everyone around her spoke a language she didn’t know, but that she recognized all the same. It was the language that colored her accent. She never knew why she’d come into being not knowing the language, and the accent was all that remained, but something in her fluttered to hear it now.

It was beautiful, fervent, so alive and real.

It was horrible. It was as if someone had taken what she read about the people she hailed from, blended it harshly with the daydreams she’d invented about herself among them, and saturated everything beyond what could make sense.

NaNoWriMo Day 17

Neon BrightLeave a comment

It has been a long weekend. I felt so busy, but at least I didn’t fall behind on words! I actually got things into the action of everything!

Word Count: 34248

Excerpt:

“So you’re upset with me,” Riddle slurred, even as the prism elf switched off his stun baton and strode towards him. There wasn’t much fight in him at the moment, and the elf seemed to recognize that. Riddle couldn’t feel anyone else close to him at all, and for a moment that worried him.

“Not upset, exactly, but surprised,” the elf admitted. “I didn’t think you’d come looking for us again, not after you managed to get away the first time. But here I am, the one to bring you in after you strayed.”

Riddle grinned, but it turned into a wince after only a second. “I wouldn’t mind you telling me what’s going on.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t,” the elf said gently. “But since you’re so slippery, I have no intent of detailing everything to you until we’re sure you’re in check. You understand.”

Riddle wanted to sling another protest, some other snarky response, but he wasn’t in time for the elf to produce a simple handkerchief from a pocket in his kaftan. As hasty as he was, he was also ridiculously graceful as he leaned forward to tie the cloth around Riddle’s mouth. Silk dug into his cheeks and the knot at the back of his head tangled in his shaggy hair.

He was going to make Finnraal cut it next time, he swore to whatever gods cared.

NaNoWriMo Day 15

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I finished writing last night at like an hour to midnight, so I decided to save the excerpt post. I was tired and it was time for bed, but also I got through a pretty fun scene so that’s exciting! 😀

Sometimes, the members of this DID system need to have a one-on-one to get a better understanding of each other. Riddle happens to be very guarded and harder to understand by his own choosing, but he’s still a good Riddle, and Finn knows this. 

Word count: 30104

Excerpt:

Finnraal gasped as his foot settled down on dry, dusty stone that he couldn’t have hoped to see. The annoyance that sparked all around him told him what he needed to know. He’d found Riddle at the bottom of the well, and the shadowy headmate didn’t want him there in the least.

“Whatcha doing down here, Finnraal?” Riddle’s voice came from all around and nowhere, and Finnraal had to control his breathing. Riddle knew everyone’s fears and admitted to none of his own.

He used to cause nightmares for Finnraal and Kala especially, and sometimes Azul too. At the time, it had felt like such a malicious thing. He’d always been so quick to remind Finnraal especially of his failings, of his fears, of his regrets. In the name of being practical, Riddle used to be as mean as they come.

It had taken a long time for Finnraal to understand why, and even then there were depths he hadn’t reached.

It was time to stop avoiding that.

NaNoWriMo Day 14

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I’m hitting a bit of a mid month slump, but that’s nothing I can’t handle! I have a few ideas for how to get myself energized again, and as always I have a great cast of characters to help me through it, too.

Word Count: 28374

Excerpt:

Azul glanced up and furrowed her brow. She hadn’t meant to come so close to the front, and her heart pounded. It felt strange to visit the body. It was bigger than what she felt like she should be, stronger. All the strength in her hands and she still feared what might happen. 

Verde was close, but she didn’t pay much attention to them at first. She glanced around the big underground room, lingering on the hanging lanterns. They weren’t as soft as the lanterns in the inner world, but they were still pretty.

The real world could be beautiful. Beautiful and terrifying.

NaNoWriMo Day 12

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I was off to a slower start today, but then the characters sort of reminded me of the plot. It’s getting to be a lot of fun! Not that Finnraal thinks so.

Word Count: 25250

Excerpt:

“I am, well, I’m a death god.”

Finnraal frowned. “Another death god?”

Percival replied with a shy smile and held up his hand with only his thumb tucked towards his palm. “I don’t blame you for not knowing, but I’m actually the fourth death god. But that is beside the point.”

NaNoWriMo Day 10

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I attended my first Write In today! It was very chill. Basically imagine going to the library and working on writing and not really talking much to the people around you, but you’re all there for the same thing. That’s what the write in was like.

Word Count: 21340

Excerpt:

They reached the bend in the tunnel and rounded it together, only to find that the visitor had backed off even further. He was several feet away, awkward in demeanor from his mussed, straw-colored hair to the worn leather boots that spoke of long travels on rocky roads. He wore a tunic that had long since faded from its original green dye work, and his trousers had a similar well traveled look.

Despite his rumpled style, though, the man had a face full of youth and health, much more befitting the noble origins of his clothes. Blue eyes regarded them with a sharp intelligence that contrasted with his shy stance.

“Ah. Hello,” he stammered. “I admit I’m a bit unsure of how to greet you.”

“Most people start with hello, so you’re off to a promising start,” Tarin said. In anyone else’s voice it might have been cutting sarcasm. In his, it was gentle and delivered without an ounce of teasing.

NaNoWriMo Day 9

Neon BrightLeave a comment

I got done late ish last night and didn’t feel like making a post, but I actually  do have an excerpt from yesterday’s writing that I’m quite happy with. Things are really coming along! Just when I think the story might end up needing some more outlining, something new comes to mind and it keeps rolling right along! To the chagrin of several characters.

Word Count: 19316

Excerpt:

The next time Finnraal woke, he sucked in a harsh gasp and sat up. His heart pattered briefly before confusion slowed it down again as he glanced around the room. Then, he groaned and rubbed at his face with both hands as if he might drag himself to full wakefulness.

He was back home, in the warren. He was clean, and shaven, and quite rested, and by the bronze-handed clock on the crate they used as a nightstand, it was well into the afternoon.

His stomach yowled in protest and he put both arms over it with a scoff. Someone had gotten him out of that situation and even cleaned up afterwards, but had gone right to bed without eating anything. He had to hope there was still something around he could have.