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So, I just
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So, I just
So, I just had a RAI (Really Awesome Idea. New abbreviation. Maybe all of the CB will start using it!) for a fantasy Round Robin. (For those of you who don't know, a Round Robin is a story that one person starts, another person continues, and so on.) There will be some rules:
1. If you are joining or posting again, make sure the newest post has shown up before you add your contribution. Otherwise we end up with a bunch of conflicting posts and it gets very confusing.
2. Also, make sure you read all of the other posts thouroughly so as to be able to understand what's going on-and don't be afraid to ask questions!
Other than that, anything goes.
Here's my first contribution:
Swallowing the fear that rose like bile in his throat, Traintor slipped down the dark hallways of the keeping-house like a shadow, which was of course what he was. Technically, he was a Shadow, a person who had the stealth of a cat and the silence of a night breeze. Being dark-haired, dark-eyed, and tanned didn't hurt either.
Of course, being so stealthy led to many Shadows becoming thieves-which, in turn, led to the governor being so terrified of Shadows that he ordered all of them rounded up and put into keeping-houses where they couldn't escape. Traintor's parents had tried to hide him as a baby, but he had been found.
And it's not fair, he thought, the indignation stopping his fear for the moment. I know that stealing is wrong. Just because some of us became thieves, it doesn't mean that we all will. You can't cage up a whole group of people just because a few of them did something wrong.
His indignation grew into fury, and he slid across the hallway right under the nose of a guard, swiping his keys on the way. He reached the barred window and unlocked it, jumped through, and hit the ground running.
In his exhiliaration, however, he forgot his general rule of caution and silence--landing a bit too heavily and unwarily running across a patch of crunchy leaves. The next thing he knew there was a shout of, "Hey! One of them has broken out!" And he ran for his freedom, which, to thirteen-year-old Traintor, was life itself.
Have fun with that! ;)
Andy P. C. says kfwi. Kiwi?
~Wolfgirl67 signing off.
submitted by Wolfgirl67, age ~13~, Writing a Round
(March 5, 2011 - 9:37 pm)
(March 5, 2011 - 9:37 pm)
Wolfgirl, this is super! Maybe when I have time I'll add on, but I don't normally go to Inkwell. :) I can't believe there've been no posts for a whole day here on Inkwell. So sad.
(March 6, 2011 - 10:50 pm)
@R~D~: Thanks! Yes, it is sad. It almost feels like the CB is...oh no! I won't say it, I won't say it, I won't say it...
@Thread: Go straight to the top, don't stop, hop, hop, hop! (Parody of a Sesame Street song. Don't laugh.)
Andy P. C. says pvae.
~Wolfgirl67 signing off.
(March 7, 2011 - 2:33 pm)
I hope this is as good as yours.
Traintor's feet hit the hard frozen ground as he ran. HE could hear the clank of armor behind him as guards ran but he didn't turn around. He was out and that was the important thing. Suddenly he heard the neigh of a horse and swirled around, too late. He was grabbed by the neck and thrown up on the horse. "A little to slow boy, eh?" The man spat laughing hard. Traintor's heart was full of hate. He didn't want to go back and that wouldn't happen. Rolling his fist into a ball Traintor hit the man square in the face. The guard fell backward off the horse unconcious. "YAH! GO!" Traintor kicked the heaving sides of the stallion and they flew like birds. Soon there was no sign of the guards or his men.
(March 8, 2011 - 6:00 am)
@Elizabeth M.: That was awesome! Thank you for replying! Sorry about your cold. :( Hopefully, it will go away soon.
It was starting to get light when they stopped. Light-it worked against Traintor. In the darkness, he melted away like a piece of the night itself. In the light, he stood out in his black clothes like coal dust on the snow. So he was glad when the frightened horse ran itself to exhaustion.
It seemed that the horse was glad too. His flanks were heaving, and as Traintor slid off, he uttered a low grunt that came out to his rider as, "I need water and rest. I'm so exhausted."
"I can take you to water if you'll follow me," Traintor offered in Horsespeak. Then he waited for the horse to spook. He didn't have long to wait.
Tired and thirsty as the stallion was, he reared up into the sky and would have run away if Traintor hadn't grabbed his bridle. "How do-how do-how do you know how-how-how to speak Horsespeak?"
"I'm an Animalspeak," Traintor replied. An Animalspeak was a person who could speak all the languages of the animals. However, they tended to be shunned by humans, and so spent most of the time with animals.
Unless, like me, they're Shadows, and are penned up in keeping-houses, Traintor thought, bitterly. A Shadow and an Animalspeak-what rotten luck.
The stallion relaxed. "Oh, well, if you're an Animalspeak I can trust you, then. My name's Rantro. What's yours?"
"Traintor," Traintor smiled. He had just noted the color of the stallion-jet black. Perfect for riding through the night unseen.
Andy P. C. says cpxb.
~Wolfgirl67 signing off.
(March 8, 2011 - 2:31 pm)
@WolfGirl67-- Thank you! What is a Keeping House? Is that like a jail?
At that moment Traintor decided something. He would only travel at night. During the day time he could figure out his path. Now he had a friend. HE knew that he was slowly gaining the stallion's trust. They walked to the small bubbling stream and the horse drank the cool water with joy in every gulp. After he had drunk his full he spoke to Traintor. "Where are you going, Sir Traintor?" His deep horse-like voice was curious. "Across the seas, that is all I know." The horse seemed to be thinking. "I know where you shall go!" His voice startled Traintor. "The city of Aramull. There you can get a ship which will take you over the sea." Aramull? Traintor thought. The town of kings. I cannot go there. There must be another way. As if having read his thoughts the horse replied: "This is the only place where you can get ships. The others are too far. Just too far." "But I cannot go there! It's the city of kings! The guards will find me again." The horse pondered over this in his mind. "We must trade your clothes. Yes," , he said half to himself,"a good idea..." Traintor looked down at his black robes which made him known as a shadow. HE couldn't trade them in. HE was what he was a shadow and there was NO WAY that he was going to become something else.
(March 9, 2011 - 1:41 am)
@Elizabeth M.: A keeping-house is purely fictional. It's where the governor ordered all the Shadows held after some of them became thieves.
"My hair, eyes, skin, and the way I act will give me away anyway," Traintor replied. "No, there must be another way to get in."
"We could slip in during the dead of night and stow away on a ship," the horse suggested.
A ship bound to where? Traintor wondered, slightly doubtful. Still, anything had to be better than a keeping-house.
"Right, that's settled then," he said. "Now let's rest. We'll start out again tonight."
As it was, however, they didn't do a lot of sleeping. They mostly talked. Traintor told the horse about the keeping-house, and Rantro told him that he had once been a wild stallion leading his herd, until...
"Until humans captured you," Traintor finished. He and the stallion had something in common.
Andy P. C. says hdye.
~Wolfgirl67 signing off.
(March 9, 2011 - 2:28 pm)
@ WolfGirl67-- Oh, sorry. I just wasn't sure. :)
Traintor’s head was lifted up by a soft warm thing. He lookedup into the dark eyes of the stallion. “It is time to go! Get on my back. Wemust go quickly!”
Traintor cautiously stepped up on the horses back. The horsestarted off in a trot which became a gallop. They flew over the cold ground. Bydawn they could see the fire surrounding the walls of the city where theredestination was. Traintor could also see guards pacing back and forth. Hecouldn’t go this way. It was too dangerous.
“Is there another way?” He asked the horse. The animal thoughtfor a moment and said: “Yes, but it takes an hour or so.” Too long. Thought Traintor. Butwe must get out of here! I will risk being seen.
Traintor gazed at thehorse. “We will ride to the back gate. But quickly! We cannot be seen.” Hekicked the horses flanks and the animal set off at a run.
(March 10, 2011 - 2:13 am)
@Elizabeth: Have you tried echinacea for that cold? It really, really helps well. :)
They rode around to the back gate. Here there was only one guard, and as Traintor and Rantro watched, they realized that he was sound asleep. Letting out a breath of relief, Traintor urged Rantro forward.
"Could you please stop kicking me so much when we're not in the company of other people?" Rantro asked, quietly. "There's no need for it when you can just ask politely."
"Sorry," Traintor half-grinned, picking the lock on the gate swiftly. "Come on, let's get to a ship."
Andy P. C. says emyo.
~Wolfgirl67 signing off.
(March 10, 2011 - 1:32 pm)
@ Wolfgirl67-- Yes, I have! It helps very much(I don't really like the taste though... And what is a APM?
Rantro walked through the heavy city gates. The city was dark and quiet but also the cleanest city Traintor had ever seen.
"Where's the harbor?" Traintor asked. The horse sniffed and started to gallop down a street. Soon after they reached a harbor. It was huge but empty except for one new well painted boat called: Darling.
Traintor looked at the ship and lowered his mouth to the horses ear. "What do you think?" He asked softly. "Well, we must go. This is the only one."
Rantro looked around as if to look for people and silently walked up the steps. "Where's a good place to hide a horse?" Traintor asked. "In the hull."
The boy jumped off the animal's back and led him to a small opening. "YOu stay here! I'll look around!" The horse lay down exhausted as Traintor walked away.
(March 11, 2011 - 1:26 am)
@Elizabeth: Glad to hear about your cold getting better! :) An APM stands for Author Pairs Movement. Nobody's done one in a while, but it means that two people on the Inkwell get together and take turns writing a story.
Traintor slipped on board the ship and stole around stealthily. To his nervous ears, the slightest sound became huge. Once he stepped on a floorboard and it creaked alarmingly. A sailor nearby heard it and turned around.
Traintor melted backwards, not daring to breathe, trusting to his all-black clothing to keep him concealed.
"Stupid cat," the sailor finally muttered, turning away. "Never catches those darn rats."
Traintor sighed with relief and melted away into the storeroom. Suddenly he tripped over something lying on the ground and heard a voice-an angry girl's voice.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Traintor's blood froze. If the sailor had heard that-he quickly clapped a hand over the girl's mouth and dragged her backwards into the shadows.
She wrenched his hand off of her mouth and glared at him fiercely. She had startlingly blue eyes-they looked like sapphires. "How dare you lay hands on a princess?" she hissed.
"A princess?" Traintor gasped. "What are you doing on this ship?"
"I ran away."
Andy P. C. says wfen. What fun? Yes, it is. :)
~Wolfgirl67 signing off.
(March 11, 2011 - 1:22 pm)
@ Wolfgirl67-- That would be fun!! Do you want to?
The princess’s eyes glistened in the darkness. They were fearless and full of pride.
“Why did you run away?” Traintor exclaimed. The girl pushed a strand of hair out of her pale face. “I want to explore the world instead of sitting around and being pestered about stinking rich princes that I’m supposed to marry.”
Her forehead wrinkled and she asked suspiciously: “What are you doing here?” Traintor tugged at his dark sleeve nervously. “I-I…” Should I tell her what I am? he thought. Traintor looked at the princess’s waiting face. She won’t care. He was sure of it. She wasn’t that type.
“I am-am known as a Shadow. I-I have run away from the Keeping House. I also want freedom.”
The girl turned her head slightly, studying him. Soon she smiled. “Well, Shadow, may I ask your name?”
Traintor’s eyes widened. She didn’t care that he was a Shadow. She didn’t care that he was different. He felt a sudden joy rise up in his empty stomach and sat down next to the princess.
“Traintor. And yours?” “Malu, Daughter of King Lorek and Queen Haimi. I am glad that I will have a companion on my journey. It will not be as lonely.”
A small neigh came from the doorway. The black stallion stood at the doorway.
“Well, well… This is where you’ve been. Oh la la.” He chuckled quietly to himself. “It- We-No, erm…” The princess interrupted him. “Can a boy not talk with a girl or something?! I mean we were having a normal conversation.” Traintor stared at the self confident princess.
“You understand him?” he asked bewildered. “Of course I do!”
(March 12, 2011 - 2:12 pm)
Sure! It doesn't look like anybody else is going to join this RR anyway...
Malu gasped. "You're not an Animalspeak, are you?"
Traintor shot an uneasy glance towards her, then towards Rantro. Should he tell her? She hadn't cared that he was a Shadow. But Animalspeaks...he had heard stories of how they were treated...
"Well...yes...I am."
"Don't worry. So am I."
"You're a WHAT?!" both Traintor and Rantro yelled at the same time. "But...but...you're a princess!"
"So?" Malu answered. "Princesses are people just like everybody else. And there have been royalty who can talk to animals before."
Traintor just stared. But he was beginning to feel positively ecstatic. An Animalspeak princess who didn't care that he was a Shadow, and a powerful black mustang stallion who had also been captured and taken away...he finally had friends. Two wonderful friends.
Andy P. C. says edof. Get off? Thanks a million, Andy.
~Wolfgirl67 signing off.
(March 12, 2011 - 3:52 pm)
This sounds cool! I've never done an APM before!
A small sliver of light shined into the small cabin.
Traitor heard the lapping of water and the creak of wood. He looked around bewildered.
Where am I?! he thought, confused. Suddenly the night before came back to him.
He swirled around and looked at Malu who was huddled up next to Rantro. The big horse’s head was covering her as if to protect her.
Malu sighed and rubbed her eyes. Traintor could now see what she looked like.
Her hair was a dark brown and in a long braid wrapped aroundher head. Her face was pale and a small spout of freckles ran across her nose. Her eyes were dark blue. She wore a long lavender dress with white sleeves which shimmered and fell from her arms. A dark cloak was covering her small shoulders.
“What are you staring at?” Malu asked, bewildered. Traintor shook his head to get out of the trance and answered quietly: “Nothing, nothing…”Rantro was still sound asleep in the corner.
“I’m hungry. We’d better find something to eat.” Malu declared. Traintor hadn’t noticed until this moment how empty and starved his stomach was. He needed to eat right away!
“But where?” Traintor asked. “The kitchen of course! Where else?”
Traintor felt scared. He didn’t want to go out in the daylight. He hated being seen. He couldn’t tell Malu that.
She looked at him expectedly and pulled him towards the small door.
(March 13, 2011 - 3:06 am)
May I join or is it too late?
(March 13, 2011 - 2:59 pm)
@Elizabeth D.: Well, if Elizabeth M. doesn't mind, we could turn this into the first ever ATM, Author Trio Movement. Or we could just transform it again into a Round Robin.
"Do we have to go to the kitchens in the broad daylight?" he asked, nervously.
She stared at him curiously, then said, "Oh, right, a Shadow. Well, how else are we going to get food?"
"Why don't you go alone?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I'm dressed too royally."
"Take my cloak." When she hesitated, he said, "It's either you or Rantro."
Grinning, she put on his cloak and left the room.
Andy P. C. says iaya. III-YAAA! Are you learning karate?
~Wolfgirl67 signing off.
(March 14, 2011 - 3:41 pm)