[Short Story] Life in the Abyss (Winners Announced)

[Faithofthefallen]

Life in the Abyss

Opens: NOW
Closes: 10/22 at 11:59pm CST
Time Zone Converter


Deep beneath the open ocean is a mysterious world that remains largely unexplored by most travelers. The light fades rapidly the farther down you travel, and most find the darkness unnerving, if not outright terrifying. Despite this popular opinion, life is abundant and diverse in the deep ocean, citizens of the lithosphere often happily spend their entire lives with no desire to travel near the surface.

The conditions are harsh, but over many lifetimes, the strange denizens of the deep have adapted their sight and their diets, and many have found the beauty in their home. The water is cold and refreshing, the pressure a constant, comforting squeeze. The steady orange glow emanating from the fissures in the earth's surface was hauntingly beautiful and cracks often created small hot springs, where the water was warm and mineral rich.

The deep sea is also full of many dangers, the underwater volcanos were often active, spraying jets of superheated water. Earthquakes are common as the tectonic plates shift. Large jawed and venomous predators lurked in most hidey holes and often disguised themselves as harmless curiosities.

Prompt

The twins had heard tales of those who dwelled in the above lands, plagued by the sun, the tides, the weather. Sometimes they wondered if the creatures who dwelled above worried about floating up and away without the comforting pressure of the water holding them down.

The two were out scavenging for food, a precious resource, something people happily killed for, when they came upon a rockslide that had shorn away the side of a seamount, revealing a dark tunnel.

They glanced at each other, barely needing to speak.
The potential risks of entering such a place were numerous, but the new pathway may lead them to a new source of food.

The purple twin swam forward, ever so cautiously, and listened at the mouth of the tunnel. Glancing back at her sister, she motioned her forward and the pair swam into the blackness.
The tunnel seemed to go on forever, at one point it narrowed so much that they had to plaster their fins to their sides and wriggle through a tiny notch under a fallen boulder. Thankfully their ornaments lighted the way.

They emerged inside a trench so dark that even with their adapted eyesight, they had to blink and struggle to adjust to the change. They swam in a circle, gazing at their surroundings in confusion and disappointment. So far, it didn't look like this would be a fruitful expedition. Marking the tunnel exit, they proceeded forward cautiously.

It was a ship graveyard, sunken vessels, rusted and rotting, peppered the area in astonishing numbers. Bones poked up from the sand, it looked as though hundreds of soquili and sailors had found their end here.

The green twin turned back the way they had come, fully intending to high tail it back to the tunnel, but she realized her sister was no longer with her. Ahead, a softly glowing golden orb was dancing back and forth and the purple twin was following it doggedly. Cursing, the green twin gave chase, the light led them through the shipyard to a giant cave and slipped just inside the mouth, dancing its' invitation. Before the green twin could stop her, the purple twin had disappeared into the cave.

What happens next is up to you. Why is the purple twin following the light? What happens to her after she enters the cave? Does the green twin choose to follow her sister into the cave? What does she find there? Do they need to escape? Feel free to explore their backgrounds. Have fun with it!

[ Prizes ]

MerFemale-Nude MerFemale-Nude-Twin

 

[Faithofthefallen]

[ Rules ]

.o1 || You may create an entry for both sisters
.o2 || Follow all soq and gaia ToS of course!
.o3 || No proxies
.o4 || As this is a judged contest, staff may not enter.
.o5 || PM Faithofthefallen with any questions
.o6 || You may only win one freebie soq in this event, if you have already won a free soquli, you are not eligible to enter this contest.
.o7 || Please quote Faith if you need to withdraw your entry for any reason, do not delete your post, strike it through.
.o8 || You may edit your posts up until the contest ends, but please leave a note at the top if you do so I don't miss seeing your changes.
.o9 || Your story can be written in whatever point of view you'd like, it can be whatever genre you'd like, flex that creative mind!

[ Forms ]

[ For the purple twin ]

[b]Tread [b][color=#318CE7]softly[/color][/b] into [color=#BF94E4]Darkness[/color][/b]

[b]Username[/b]:
[b]Soq name:[/b]
[b]Entry:[/b]

[ For the Green twin ]

[b][color=#66DDAA]Livin[/color] La Vida [color=#318CE7]Loca[/color][/b]

[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Soq name:[/b]
[b]Entry:[/b]

 

[Faithofthefallen]

OPAN!!!  

[Lady Argentum Draconis]

Livin La Vida Loca

Username: Lady Argentum Draconis
Soq name: Nereida
Entry: The mare hesitated swearing softly to herself. How could her sister just blindly that strange light? She swiftly jerked from side to side as if pacing trying to decide what to do, one eye firmly locked onto the cave entrance. What to do? What to do!

She stopped her erratic swimming and let out a stream of annoyed bubbles. There was really only one course of action, following her seemingly bewitched sister. She gave one final huff and then swam inside cautiously looking around. "Sister...?" she called out softly moving deeper into the cave. "Sister?"

The dim illumination from her ornaments cast strange shadows upon the wall and ceiling but still she swam deeper into the cave. "Sister?" she called out again but all she could hear in response was the echo of her own voice. She bit her lower lip becoming more worried the further she got and there still being no response from her sister. "Please answer me..." she said softly and stopped as suddenly the cave emptied into a large chamber with multiple branches.

"Oh no..." she said to herself looking between the choices. Without a sign there was no way to know which way her sister had gone in her pursuit of the light. She slowly swam between them listening for any sound that might lead to her twin but could only hear the soft rush of water as it moved down the passages. She returned to the center of the chamber and bit her lower lip again.

Suddenly a piercing scream echoed down one of the passages and the mare called out. "Sister!" she bolted down the passage she thought the scream originated from and swam as fast as she could calling out for her twin. "I'm coming! Hang on!" She seemed to swim forever but the passage just kept going on and as suddenly as she'd began she had to stop. Somehow beyond all reasoning she found herself back out side the cave. How she had no idea. She had neither turned or deviated once in the passage she thought she'd heard her sister down and yet here she was back at the beginning...

And no matter how many times she attempted to traverse the cave she always found herself back at the entrance. Eventually there was nothing to do but stop...whether it had been vengeful spirits or something more simple as a maze she felt she'd never know what had happened to her sister.  

[Tygress Dream]

Tread softly into Darkness

Username: Tygress Dream
Soq name: Merise Undinia
Entry:
There was no food to be found. That was their job to find food, and yet Merise drifted through the trench, taking in the bones of ships and once living things. A sort of morbid fascination filled her and kept her moving while a voice at the back of her mind kept urging her to turn around. Of course Merise was used to having another voice in her mind, a constant presence and light at the darkest of times; she was a twin. But now that voice was different, fogged somehow.

The thought of her sister almost broke her from her strange disconnected state, but before she could turn from her path to call for her twin, the light appeared. At first she thought it was the glow of her sister's ornament, a glow that had been a great comfort to her all her life. That drew her forward and she called her sister's name. There was no reply except the light began a messmerizing dance that beckoned her forward. A panicked, No, no! It's not sister! tried to break through the spell the dancing light and this strange place was weaving around her... even the actual calls from her sister when she realized they were separated didn't break through.

Merise swam on, following the light though the sight of it barely registered to her fogged mind. Darkness and silence surrounded her, unknowingly she'd entered a giant cave... such an odd feeling for the first time in her life she was alone, completely alone. Fear trembled in that small part of her not clouded by the spell shrieked knowing it was wrong, so very wrong. Still she drifted. "It's not so bad, is it? To be alone in the dark... " was that her own voice or was someone else there? The dancing light settled surrounded by what looked like... were those teeth? No, of course not. They were much too big. Must be a part of one of those strange ships, yes the bones of a ship in a circle. There was a cozy looking spot there in the center of that circle and Merise suddenly found herself feeling exhausted.

Ahh... yes... it'd been a hard journey... so tired... should just rest... yes, rest. Just a moment there would be time soon to find... who did she need to find? She started to settle down... and darkness began to close around her, along with the not-teeth....

"MERISE!!!!!" the call of her name was filled with such terror that she suddenly returned to consciousness. A point of light streamed toward her and suddenly a body collided with hers pulling her clear as the giant teeth snapped shut. There was a rumbling growl... but neither looked back to see if anything gave chase as the sisters raced together for the exit. When finally they struggled back through to familiar waters they embraced... together as it should be. Their ornaments the only glow and unclouded again the presence in each other's minds that proved that, for the moment at least, all was again right in their world. "Never... alone..." "Never again."  

[Mewsings of An Angel]

Livin La Vida Loca

Username: Mewsings of An Angel
Soq name: Himanthalia "Hima"
Entry:

You couldn't say she was not curious, no, Hima was incredibly curious of what lay beyond the darkness. But it was the aching fear that made her pause. Blinding light filled her vision, and her sensitive eyes told her body to go back to the comforting darkness and hide away. But her sister seemed to think the opposite and seemed to want to go toward it like a lured fish chasing an Anglerfish's light. "Mera! Come back!" Hima harshly whispered toward her sister's swimming form, afraid to raise her voice anymore. But her sister did not hear her, or decided to ignore her. Hima let out an irritated whimper, kicking her flipper back and forth as she swam in place, exasperated at what she was about to do. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and kicked out hard, propeling her body forward after her sister and the offensive light.

She heard her sister giggle quietly, and Hima slowly opened her eyes, watching her sister follow the oddly golden light. Around her, shadows danced from the stringy seaweed that struggled to thrive in the wreckage of the ships here. It gave an incredibly ominous feeling to the area - one Hima was not a fan of. Let it be known that she was not usually someone who was afraid. She was normally the more outgoing of the twins and yet he had had no intention of wanting to venture this far from the comfort of their home. She was woefully aware that they might not be able to go back! But it seemed her sister intent on letting her curiosity lift all reason.

"Look! Look! Hima! Look!" Mera let out a squeak of delight and Hima slowly swam over to join her loud sister. Her hooves struck out at one rotten corner of one of the ominous shells of the ships that laid here on the ocean floor. It gave easily, and a chunk floated away, revealing what had made Mera call her over. Large odd cylinders lay strewn about, and in the watery light a faint golden color shone from beneath layers of silt and debris.

It was a mysterious beauty.

"Look at the color!" Hima let out a whisper. She had always love the shine of golden objects. It was an oddly warm color. She had heard tales that the light way above the waters was bright and golden. But sadly, down here in the deep, one was lucky you could see the blues and grays of the filtered light. Sometimes there were days it didn't even make it down very far and the denizens of the depths relied heavily on the adapted eyesight that the lack of sunlight had created.

Hima lifted a golden cylinder and shook it a bit, trying to shake more dirt loose, but only succeeded in clouding the waters. "Mera! We should take these home. Can you imagine their faces when we tell them where they came from?" She let out an exciting squeak, turning to where her sister had focused her attention. but her sister was not there. "Mera?"

Hima turned every which way, her heart suddenly pattering a little faster. "Mera?!"

She swam away from the wreckage and the golden cylinders, their focus forgotten. Where was her sister?

And suddenly she spotted her sister, her frame pressed against a wooden beam. "Mera!" Hima yelped nervously. "Shhh!!" Her sister returned, a narrowed gaze giving Hima a moment of pause. In the distance, a dark form swam. It was.... giant.... with a wicked tail that flicked from side to side in a predatory manner.

What was.... was it.... a shark?

Hima slowly swam closer to Mera. "Mera? What.. is it?" Her sister looked back at her and shook her head. "I'm not sure... it reminds me of shark we saw that one time. But.. it's huge! I think we need to go back. Carefully." Hima nodded in agreement, her heart hammering.

Hima and Mera slowly backed away, their movements both slow, trying not to attract the beast that swam above. But Hima could not suppress the gasp that escaped her lips as a sharp old nail from a ship plank scraped along her side. A tendril of crimson filtered up through the water and a sudden terror crept through her body. She met her sister's eyes. They looked at each other, as if memorizing the others' face.

There was a rumble that shook her to her core.

Mera's eyes narrowed, lips pressed into a thin line. "Swim." Hima blinked, letting out a breath. "Mera?" Mera shook her head and flicked her tail, smacking her sister's fin. "Swim!"

The rumble grew louder and a shadow fell upon the two, accompanied by a crunch as something collided with the wooded frame of the desiccated ship above them. Mera pushed her sister before she swam away from her. With a stifled sob, Hima swam in the opposite direction....

....

That was the last time she saw her sister. And it was hard to say if Mera had survived. But Hima looked out from her cavern home, staring at the ship graveyard. Today she would finally venture back out there. This time in search of something besides what her curiosity drove her to explore.  

[Dragon Berri]

Tread softly into Darkness

Username: Strawberri Stardust
Soq name: Asherah
Entry: Asherah had initially been freaked out by the ship graveyard she and her sister had stumbled into. She was just about to turn around and follow her sister back toward home when a light caught her eye. “Oh, how pretty,” she murmured and swam a little closer. Asherah had always been attracted to bright, shiny, glowy things. It was a little bit of a problem, but she had her hoard under control. Kind of. Okay, maybe it wasn’t under control at all. Maybe she had a second secret hoard her twin didn’t know about yet.

But she couldn’t help it! They were just so pretty and she couldn’t resist taking them home with her. Just like this light. It was so pretty! She just needed to get a little closer so she could grab it and then she could hightail it home with her sister. “Come here little one, I won’t hurt you…” It kept getting further away, but Asherah kept following it. She was sure she could get it, she just needed to figure out the right angle, right? Right.

She didn’t notice the bones were growing in number as she followed the light. She didn’t notice the unmistakable glint of teeth behind the orb, giant teeth that could tear her apart in just one or two bites. She was much more focused on the way the light danced before her eyes. Oh, what a lovely addition it would make to her hoard if only she could catch it! Just a little further…

Just when she was about to snag it between her teeth, a familiar green and blue blur slammed into her and knocked her away from it. “Nonono! I was so close! What did you do that for?” she wailed. And that was when she saw the creature behind the light. “Oh. Right.” With that, she turned and sped away back the way they came with her sister.  

[tefla]

Tread softly into Darkness

Username: tefla
Soq name: Nyneve
Entry:

'It's okay. It's okay. I can still see the lights of her jewelry," Nyneve thought as she observed her twin swim beneath her to inspect the creepy ship graveyard that was beneath them. Worry creased her brow the longer that Kairi was not at her side. That was how it was supposed to be. Life had never been lonely for Kairi and Nyneve. Both mers had been born the same day and had only been minutes apart in emerging from their shells. Both mers had a strong independent streak but never really felt the need to stray far from where the other was located. It made searching for food tougher than it needed to be. Each time they went to forage both Nyneve and Kairi were inseparable. In sync most of the time they felt that to speak during a food hunt was an awful waste of air. The lore was that twins often could communicate without words but it was through body language that the sisters had worked out a communication lexicon. Each twitch of a tail or flick of a fin meant something to each girl as they kept in visual sight of each other. And even though they were adept at this silent language every once in a while they ended up swimming back to the village with nothing to show for their efforts. That just wouldn't do. Going back to watching her sister explore below Nyneve became aware of a light that was floating just meters away from her position. 'But how did Kairi pass me? Isn't she still below?'

Nyneve glanced below her and could no longer see Kairi at all. 'I guess she got above me somehow. Why didn't she signal me to follow her though? Guess I will ask her when I catch up.'

Putting on a burst of speed and not realising that she was leaving her sister behind Nyneve's gaze narrowed until she only saw that light. It was moving slowly ahead of her and began to slow as another dark maw opened up in her sight. Looking at the light as it slipped inside the cave's mouth Nyneve once again questioned her twin's mental lapses. 'Has something happened when I wasn't looking?

Worry marred her features as she continued to follow what she deemed was her erratic twin. As the light's wandering, dancing motion finally ceased Nyneve breathed a sigh of relief, 'finally she's stopped moving. Now to see what is going on with her.' It wasn't much longer until she reached the glowing light orb. Blinking in confusion Nyneve came to the realization that the light had been affixed to a stalactite jutting down from the ceiling of the cave. Horror washed over her as she stared at the now motionless glowing orb. Her fin gently reached out to stroke the surface of the lantern just as a sinister laugh echoed in the darkness around her. Nyn froze in fear as a streamlined shape emerged from the blackness in front of her. Heavily scarred limbs reached out to latch onto her body and she was jerked forward.

"Well, well. Look what I managed to entice into my lair," the owner of the voice crowed with victory, "fresh meat." Suddenly an overwhelming sense of dread flooded Nyn's body. Where was Kairi? Where was her twin? She struggled in her captor's grasp until the voice sounded out again.

"If you are thinking about being rescued I'm going to ruin your dreams. You see I had another one of my friend's pay your companion a little visit. I doubt she'll be coming for you anytime soon. It's just you and me now. All alone."

At this revelation her captor emerged from the blackness and revealed just what had caught a hold of her. Limbs waved back and forth in front of her eyes as she took in the sight of the giant squid. One tentacle was wrapped tightly around Nyneve's waist and she felt herself being dragged back into the darkness. The light from the lantern all but vanished as she heard the squid's laughter echo around her once more. "A light in the darkness beckons, twas a fool to follow it so blindly. Now the trap has been sprung and a rare beauty is caught by the 'Teeth of the Deep'. Will she survive?"

Nyneve's struggles to free herself from the grasp of the squid was suddenly cut short as another tentacled limb brought a broken off stalagmite fragment down on her skull. What little struggle she'd been putting up ceased as consciousness was stolen from her body. Her last conscious act was a mere whispering of her sister's name, "Kairi...."  

[Kyaishi]

Tread softly into Darkness

Username: Kyaishi
Soq name: Delphina
Entry:
She didn't know what possessed her to swim forward. By all accounts, she should have been wary, cautious, even terrified of that soft, dancing light that was clearly following them, but something compelled her towards it, even through the trepidation that had surfaced in the back of her mind. Even though her sister hadn't turned around, unaware that Delphina had stopped once more to stare into that warm, welcoming light. Later, she would recount the feeling that something was urging her to follow, although she would never be able to name exactly what it was or where it had come from.

Without even a backwards glance towards her twin- something that would have seemed off, had she the presence of mind to think about it- Delphina was gone in a single stroke of her fins, drifting mindlessly towards that light that hovered just beyond her field of vision. It wasn't fascination, or curiosity. It wasn't even the thought that there might be something valuable at the end of this journey. It was as if she'd been possessed, unable to break away from the inevitable path towards...

Massive jaws.

Massive jaws.

She wasn't even able to see what kind of creature the jaws belonged to, or even anything beyond the huge incisors that extended just beyond the range of the dancing light... directly in Delphina's path. All at once, she snapped from her trance, caught in a veritable fight or flight instinct that overrode every urge to stare at that light and replaced it with the screaming chant of flee, flee, flee! The creature, whatever it was, must have sensed Delphina's sudden fear, for before she had even gathered her scrambled thoughts enough to stop swimming forward, those jaws were abruptly rushing towards her.

A frightened scream echoed off of the cave's walls as the aquatic mare turned and fled, pumping her fins with all her strength as she burst from the cave's entrance, only belatedly catching a glimpse of her sister's green coming towards her. "Go!" she shrieked, only slowing long enough to bodily shove her twin in the direction she was fleeing, feeling terror rise up in her throat as she felt the currents move around her, felt the water around them pulse as the creature quickly grew nearer. This is the end, she thought in despair, lamenting that she was going to get both herself and her sister killed, and father would never...

Oh, there! There was a small tunnel, off to the side, clearly too small for the creature to pass through, but would they both fit? A brief glance backwards told her that there was no time to deliberate, and they wouldn't be able to outrun the creature much longer, anyway. With a shove at her sister's back, she pointed at the tunnel with one fin and urged her forward with, "Look, in there! Go!" It only took a moment to redirect them both towards the small passageway, but with every passing millisecond, Delphina's heartbeat grew louder and louder in her ears, drowning out the outside world. She watched her sister's front disappear into the passage, then her back, then her fins, and the beating in her ears drowned out everything except for the incessant chant of, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die.

Finally, finally the passageway was clear enough for her to dart inside, but every second that she struggled to make herself fit, she could feel the water pulse around her with the creature's malicious intent, as if it were some sort of demon. A frightened squeal escaped her as she felt her back fins get caught on a stone outcropping, struggling violently as she tried to force herself through. Abruptly, her sister's face appeared in front of her, and then her fins were wrapping around Delphina's own fins and pulling. And then, a tug, and...

She was out! Maker's breath, she was out, and they were alive! A breathy sob, and then she was clinging to her twin and hiccuping in shaky relief, both of them trembling. An angry roar startled them into motion, though, the creature's fury at being trapped away from his prey almost palpable, and without any sort of verbal decision, they were both swimming away as far and fast as they could.

One thing was certain- they were in absolute, unspoken agreement that they would never come to this place again.  

[Dragon Berri]

Livin La Vida Loca

Username: Strawberri Stardust
Soq name: Arethusah
Entry: Arethusah had had enough of this place. The rotting ships, the broken bones. The all around creep factor of this place made her shiver in fear and she was so done. “C’mon Ash, let’s get out of here,” she said and turned to swim away. She heard a vague “Uh huh” from her sister and figured she was following behind. No food was worth searching this creepy place. “What do you think killed all those things, Ash?” Arethusah asked quietly as she swam. She wouldn’t want to wake up whatever it was.

She didn’t get an answer. “Asherah?” she said and stopped, turning. “Oh, for the love of seafood,” she mumbled. Her sister was ridiculous sometimes. They had agreed on how creepy this place was and here was her beloved sister chasing after a bit of glowy light. Seriously? “ASH!” she called, but her sister either couldn’t hear her or was ignoring her.

The light shifted and Arethusah saw what lay behind the light. “Oh no, no no no, not my sister, you beast!” she cried before speeding through the water toward her sister. Their mother had named Arethusah for the speed and agility with which she had zipped around their parents. “Fins don’t fail me now,” she muttered to herself. She was not about to lose her sist to this creature!

With a yell, she slammed her hooves into the thing’s face and using that momentum, she turned to knock herself into her sister. “Let’s go!” she said and pushed Asherah toward the exit. Her sister struggled, wanting the bit of shiny for her collection Arethusah was sure. “Not worth it, c’mon!” she urged. Finally Asherah got the picture and started for the exit on her own steam. They had to squeeze through the rocks again but they finally cleared the hole and were on their way home.

Her belly might be empty, but she could handle hunger pangs better than she could the loss of her twin.  

[AislingJuno]

Tread softly into Darkness

Username: AislingJuno
Soq name: Mariana
Entry:

They were twins almost mirror images of each other and they were almost always in each other’s company. Every experience that had defined them, they had done together. They were able to communicate non-verbally because they were so intone with each other’s thoughts and actions. However, their personalities were vastly different. What one sister was strong at the other was weak at. They leaned on each other to become a strong unit.
Traveling in the mysterious cave was a mistake. However, where one twin went the other was surely to follow-

“What a Pretty Orb! It’s so shiny and Beautiful,” Mariana remarked to her Ariana when she first spotted the orb amid the remains of ships and the poor bones of the humans and soq that met their end when the ships sunk. Her and her sister mourned for all the lives lost. When they arrived home she would compose a ballad as a memorial to the lost souls.

At first Mariana followed the orb out of curiosity. The golden glowing round orb very beautiful and she had never seen anything like it. However, as she swam after the orb she started to get a brilliant idea. Sources of light were a sought after commodity at the ocean depth where the inky darkness held sway. She and her sister had lantern necklaces and many soq envied their jewelry. Mariana knew if she could grab the orb, her sister and she could trade the orb for a large amount of food. The journey inside the cave good could still prove to be fruitful expedition. She hummed a happy and joyful tune under her breath. She loved singing and often sang or hummed songs when she was happy. Her twin Ariana was a marvel at playing musical instruments , however she felt self conscious about singing but often sang with Mariana when the two of them were alone.

She fist grew startled when she noticed how far she had followed the orb into the cave system. Her twin was no longer behind her, which alarmed her they were seldom out of each other’s sight. Feeling anxious she decided to turn back and return to where she had last seen you younger sister. As if sensing her thoughts, the golden globe pulsed and intensified it light. She tried to turn and swim away from the globe but her body had become sluggish. The pulsing orb crept close to her before attaching itself to her side. Mariana shrieked in fear when the orb first made contact against her skin. Her body froze and her panicked thoughts slowed. The orb was stealing her wits and her control of her body. With the last bit of energy she had she tried to pull away from the orb. However the power the orb admitted was too strong. She let out a sob and a quick prayer to the guardians of the ocean thanking them that her sister was not with her. Mariana did not know where the orb would take her if it did not kill her, but she knew her fate would soon change at least her sister would be ok.  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Livin La Vida Loca

Username: Nyx Queen of Darkness
Soq name: Nesoi
Entry:

They had good bones, she thought. The ships that lay in this place looked to have been well made, beautiful even as far as she could tell. But she knew that it had to be more than storms that caused so many of these ships to lie on the bottom of the ocean. Ships were not made to sink, they swam or well, floated.

It was just like the stories. The ones about that mysterious place where soquili and ships sometimes went. Those who returned from there told stories of strange occurrences in the area of the triangle. Some said they saw ghosts, others nothing but fog and strange lights. Some saw nothing at all and said it was lies. But others, far too many others to discount, had simply never been seen or heard of again.

This place was cursed. She could feel it in her bones. "Ter! Let's go," she turned her back on the dark place and began to swim. After a few moments, she realized it was too quiet.

With dread, she turned to find her sister Terpsichore going into a cave following a dancing light.

Fear made the words stick in her throat, she couldn't even try to get them out. She was terrified and for a moment, she could not move. But then she was after her sister though reason told her it not to. She knew that whatever lay in this triangular sphere of doom, the root of it was in that cave--the cave her sister was going into.

But she could not leave her. Even if she spent eternity wandering through those caves until she found Ter or until she died. She would not quit.

Nesoi felt the dark press in around her. She'd long since lost sight of her sister, but up ahead the light gleamed welcoming but always distant. If she hurried, maybe she could catch them both.

But no matter how hard she swam, it did not seem to come closer. The water around her pulsed. Something thumped like a drum. The echoes reverberated through the caverns of the caves into the marrow of her bones.

Nesoi.

Her skin crawled at the whisper. It was so thin and high that she could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage. How did it know her name? And what was it?

Suddenly, the area around her bloomed into light and she was surrounded by hundreds of eerie looking fishes with glowing bulbs hanging off antennas on their heads.

"Where is she? Where is my sister?" she demanded.

The thin, high voice laughed again then all the lights went out but one.

"This way, sweetling.....this way to all the answers."  

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Tread softly into Darkness

Username: Nyx Queen of Darkness
Soq name: Terpsichore
Entry:

It was beautiful. The light seemed to be in shades of colors she'd never even seen or heard of before. It fled from her, but she chased it knowing that she had to catch that light.

Their lives depended on it.

Don't look back.

She didn't know if the voice came from within or without, only that she must heed it.

The world shifted and the pressure on her skin seemed to lift some. Terpsichore knew if she kept going her sister would be forced to follow her. Something in her told her, that it was the only way out. It was the way to food and life.

To a place where they would not have to want again.

The light grew brighter and larger. Around the edges it was jagged. It was beautiful. Her eyes burned from the intensity of it, but she swam on anyways.

It was the mouth of a cave, she realized after a few more minutes. There were lighter blue waters around the glowing yellow. She had to keep going, even if she was tired.

She wondered what this ball of light was.

Something deep within her spoke, more ancient than time itself.

The sun.







(It says you can enter for both, if wrong please disregard second post. Thanks!)  

[Faithofthefallen]

Thank you so much for all who took the time to enter, we had so much fun reading through your stories!
After taking some time to deliberate, we have decided on our winners!

Kyaishi You have won the purple twin!

Kyaishi

MerFemale-Nude

Nyx Queen of Darkness, you have won the green twin!

Nyx Queen of Darkness

MerFemale-Nude-Twin

Congratulations!
You may accept your prizes or use your one pass if you have not done so yet.
Both these lovelies were colored by Kara Asumie, so if you choose to keep them, please post certing information to the General Certing Thread

 

[Kyaishi]

Faithofthefallen

*SQUEALS.* THANK YOU SO MUCH! 4laugh I definitely accept, aaaaah! heart