Chatterbox: Inkwell

Ashildr leaned against the car, trying to keep up a calm facade while staring at her cell phone. She had gotten it precisely for this purpose, really: that when the time came, she would be able to lean against something, plug in her earbuds, and text like she was some high schooler in Starbucks.

Luckily, it was only about nine o'clock, and nobody was asleep at that time. Ashildr was able to have a very realistic conversation as she waited. Hey, Ash, what's up? U shud come over tomorrow: we're having spaghetti.

Nah, won't be able to make it. We're going to a movie.

Cool, which one?

Dad's an Emma Watson fanatic.

Say no more.

Well, at least she had appropriate friends.

"Honey, are you doing okay?" Ashildr looked up at the officer, who was bending slightly to be face to face with her. "I know this is rather traumatic for you."

"I'm fine," she replied, shrugging with a teenage air.

"Good. Then you won't mind if I ask a few questions."

"Fire away." She had prepared for this.

"What's your full name?"

"Aishling Luna O'Brien. I'm Irish."

"What about your father's?"

"Michael William O'Brien." That wasn't true. His name was Áed.

"Where were you two headed?"

"We were going to the movies in the strip mall up ahead, to see Beauty and the Beast." That was, technically speaking, true. They were going to hide in the movie theater.

"Thank you. I'll come back if I need to ask you anything else." Ashildr noticed the obvious lack of what happened? She, of course, had an answer ready, but it wasn't needed. The smashed driver's-side window, cowering daughter, and beaten father showed it all.

They hadn't made it. Somehow, their chasers had missed Ashildr, but there was still the matter of her father. Dead, the medics had said. Rediculous, Ashildr knew. All she had to do was get to him and everything would be fine.

Everyone there was very distracted. The flashing lights and CAUTION tape sent even the policemen into a panic. This was a small town; nothing like this had ever happened before, and there was only so much you could do. That made it much easier for Ashildr to sneak right up to her father's body and wrench his jaws open.

 "Taispeáin dom má tá sé ina chónaí," she whispered. "Ostende mihi vivit."

A thick white smoke billowed from her mouth and down his throat, spiralling and contracting, writhing as it entered its new host. But it soon billowed, overflowed, and poured out of his mouth again. "No. Impossible. Taispeáin dom má tá sé ina chónaí. Ostende mihi vivit. Ostende mihi vivit!"

No matter how many times she repeated the spell, it was painfully obvious.

Her father was dead.

Ashildr wrenched open the backseat door, crawling into the car and hefting out one of the cushions. There was a messenger bag there, smushed from being hidden so long, but ready if she ever had to flee. Ashildr snatched it up, slung it over her shoulder, and got out of the car again, sprinting into the woods.

When she was far enough away, she pulled out a flashlight from the bag and rummaged around for the notebook. That was the most important thing, bigger than even the map. If the notebook was not there, all was lost.

She breathed a sigh of relief as her hands closed around its hard leather surface, pulling out the brown-binded book and flipping it open. Her father's handwriting had not changed in thousands of years: it was still almost impossible to decipher. Still, she only needed to refresh her memory, not learn anything anew.

____

THE CONTENTS OF THE NOTEBOOK

On your travels, you will encounter many creatures, and it is essential that you know how to recognize them, and battle them if need be. Know that all magical creatures are either immortal or undead, so the methods for defeating them must be followed to the letter. The rarities are from one to five, one being the rarest and five the most common. Please be careful, my darling. Remember, every magical creature can transform themselves to look human, so be alert at all times.

Species: Dragon

Rarity: 1 - there are many of us in this world, but almost all are hibernating and healing. I doubt you will come across another waking dragon on your travels.

Types: Riding (that is you, my dear - designed for others to fly on, red-scaled); hunting (as I am, made to seek out prey and capture it, blue-scaled); fighting (the most dangerous of all, I pray that you do not meet one of these vicious creatures on your quest, black-scaled); breeding (like your mother, made purely to keep the species alive. Beware - they have a violent streak, purple-scaled).

Powers: Fire-breathing, flight, impenetrability (do not let anyone get under your scales or you shall be truly doomed).

Identifying features: long, claw-like nails; wild hair; short build. It is possible they may show you their wings, but unlikely.

Weaknesses: If you ever find yourself fighting a dragon, get your claws under their scales before they get under yours. You are agile and quick, like all of your type; most other dragons are slow, but harder to breach the defenses of. Fighting dragons do not have scales on their stomachs, so if you do find yourself battling one, get under them. Just remember: this lack of scales makes them the quickest of the dragons, so beware.

Immortality: It is impossible to kill a dragon, as you know. But we can be mortally injured, and fall alseep to heal our wounds. This happened to you when you attempted to join the American Revolution, do you recall? You slept through much of the Western Expansion. Remember that dragons are one of the oldest species on this planet, and can come from as long ago as Ancient Greece.

Species: Pixie

Rarity: 5 - they normally travel in packs, and there are many around this world.

Types: Flying (Flying Pixies are often called fairies by the humans because of their wings and small shape); shape-shifting (one of the trickiest, as they use these powers to pass off as anything and then wreak havoc); spell-casting (the most dangerous, as they are tiny, powerful targets); boogieman (terrifying pixies, ones that prefer scaring humans as opposed to their other, prankster relatives).

Powers: Invisibility, changing their height (each type of pixie has a separate set of powers.)

Identifying features: A small, skinny build; short hair; freckles; a light, common laugh; pointed ears in some cases.

Weaknesses: All pixies cannot resist a good joke, and will fall over laughing; they especially appreciate slapstick. Flying Pixies' wings are incredibly delicate and can be harmed simply by touching them. If you can find a way to silence a Spell-Casting Pixie, they are completely harmless. Boogieman Pixies detest the light, especially sunlight.

Immortality: Pixies are easily confined, and it is difficult for them to escape almost any cage, but they cannot die, as they don't have blood in their veins or a heart to pump it. Remember that Pixies are generally not more than a few hundred years old, as they first started appearing in the sixteenth century.

Species: Mermaid

Rarity: 3

Types: Selkie (shifters, though they are limited to mer-shape, sea creature-shape, and human-shape), Siren (the most beautiful, with singing voices that will lure anyone towards them - but beware, for they are the singular carnivorous species of mermaid); Maiden (the ones most commonly seen by humans, and a completely useless breed in my opinion).

Powers: They do not breathe, resistance to pressure, inhuman strength, communication with sea creatures

Identifying features: Very long hair, an attachment to water, flirtatious nature,

Weaknesses: Mermaids dehydrate if they are out of the water too long, and become weak and susceptible. In order to shift into their creature-shape, Selkies need their skin (often a piece of clothing), and are stuck as a human/mermaid without it. Sirens admire voices as beautiful as theirs and will let you free if you impress them. Maidens are flirtatious and weak, though they have a tendancy to befriend other, stronger sea creatures - beware of those.

Immortality: Mermaids do not breathe, and therefore do not need lungs; they have no blood to react to pressure with. They can feel pain, but are not damaged by attacks. The best thing to do is render them incapable of whatever they are attempting. Remember that mermaids are creatures that first came about during the Reconaissance, though ones that old have generally retired to the middle of the ocean by this time.

Species: Vampire

Rarity: 4

Types: Pack (travel in groups and are very vicious when together. They are very loud and blend into crowds, trying to isolate groups to attack.); Lone (travel alone, very bloodthirsty. Usually hunt in small areas, blend in with the background, and attack singular people).

Powers: Turning into bats, knowing their exact location at all times, a limited teleportation, night vision

Identifying features: Overlarge canines, a goth dressing style, overly pale skin

Weaknesses: Vampires dislike garlic, and enough of it will make them hesitate before attacking you, though it is not the best weapon. They are not susceptible to holy water or crosses, so DO NOT USE THESE. Wooden stakes are the best, though they are also injured by silver. They detest sunlight, though it will not kill them, and lightbulbs/flashlights have no effect.

Immortality: Vampires are undead. They do not have blood, but they do have a heart. Piercing this heart will cause them to return to their grave - the time depends on the severity of the wound - before they can walk the Earth again. Remember that vampires average at about two hundred years old, though they first began appearing in the eighteenth century.

Species: Werewolf

Rarity: 3

Types: Hybrid (can turn into a wolf at will, generally very bloodthirsty and dangerous creatures even as humans); Moon (only turn into a wolf at the full moon, though they still have dangerous qualities as humans); Lycanthrope (can turn into a wolf at will, though also turn into one at the full moon; at this time they have no control over their actions, and tend to be rather docile otherwise).

Powers: Shifting into wolves, inhuman strength, inhuman agility, night vision

Identifying features: A lot of hair, scarring, a tall stature, sharp teeth

Weaknesses: Werewolves are injured by anything silver, and even touching it against them will make them cry out in pain. Other weapons don't even harm them, however. They detest getting wet and will avoid water at all costs.

Immortality: Werewolves can die. However, if you kill them, they are not destroyed; a hundred years after dying, they return as an Undead, and the only way to fend them off is returning them to their grave, similar to a vampire. Remember, werewolves can be ordinary humans with their lifespans, but once they die they can be hundreds of years old - I once meta 567-year-old Lycanthrope when I was searching for your mother.

_____

I actually get to talk now.

Okay, so, that was a big info dump, but please read it - everything there is important, and stuff you need to know. There's actually stuff I didn't even mention, which I will clarify in the actual writing when we get to that.

First things first. This is a solo write, not an RP. Sorry, everyone. However, in this solo write, I am requesting that you do not, actually, base your character off yourself. Design it like you would in an RP; make it anything you want. However, I need you to be REALLY SPECIFIC. I don't want to mess up anything while writing this, so I need as much info as possible on your charries.

As much as you needed to read, I had to write. I don't think I can stand writing another creature bio right now. So, if you notice that I'm missing an obvious one, poke me and I'll decide if I want to include it. Got another creature in mind? Give me the name and I'll decide if I want to have it there! If I do, I'll give you a bio for it - if not, you can choose one of the ones above, or request a different one.

I'll accept ten people in this, maybe a few more if I feel generous.

Here's the charrie sheet! Please keep the characteristics of your species in mind while filling it out. I'll correct you if something doesn't line up.

Name:

Age:

Species/Type:

Gender:

Appearance:

Clothing:

Personality:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Hobbies:

Family:

Background:

 Other: