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 Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2024 9:47 pm
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February 2024 People do a lot of things in the name of love. Is it wrong to protect someone you love from a horrible truth or should they be given all the information even if it's terrible? That's for you to decide. But once you know, ...well you can't take it back This RP is between platonic friends (no secret feelings here!). Think your best friend, your person, your ride or die.... They've kept something from you and you've just found out. Your friend says it was to protect you. It wasn't something you had to know, but once you know it changes things. It can be a secret as big or small as you want. But how do you feel about it? Are you glad they kept it from you? Did they do the right thing? Do you understand their intentions and does that make it okay? Or are you pissed? And what happens next?
Melody was hoping they'd eventually give up. She was afraid about what telling her friend would mean. But the strangers hadn't let up -- in fact, they were becoming a lot more persistent, and visiting a lot more often... and Melody feared this now not-so-little secret she's been keeping from Mar could have some deadly consequences. It made her heart hurt. She wasn't exactly a fighter, so how could she keep her safe? It would be better if she told Mar. That way, they could come up with a plan together. But what if telling her makes her leave? Melody squeezed her eyes shut tight at the thought. It was that very reason Melody hadn't told her anything yet. She didn't want her friend to be on the run again, or to make her afraid.
But Mar's former herd haven't given up their search yet... and now they were close to finding her.
With a heavy sigh, Melody flicked her tail to propel herself through the water, towards their hidden lair. She swam down, down, deep into the ocean until she reached the sandy bottom and through the thick forest of kelp and seaweed. With a quick glance around her to make sure she hadn't been followed, she pushed aside the rock covering the entrance to the cave and squeezed her way inside.
Mar jerked her head up from where she'd been napping when she felt the current change, her body tense -- and then relaxed when she saw it was her friend. "Melody," she sighed in relief. Mar swam over to meet her, and the two of them pressed their noses together with a giggle. "I'm glad you came to visit. I know it's for the best, but it gets so lonely here..." While she wasn't confined to the one spot, Mar didn't leave the cave often. It was too soon to risk leaving when she knew her former herd was still searching for her. They hadn't seen or heard of them in months, though... maybe in a year, she could move about more freely.
Melody's joy in seeing her friend was genuine, but it was difficult to keep up her smile without becoming forced. "I know, I'm sorry. I wish I could come visit more, but if someone saw me..." she trailed off with a sigh, feeling somber. She had to do this. Mar's life was in jeopardy and this wasn't a decision Melody should have been making for her. "Mar... I -- I need to tell you something. I didn't mean for it to go on for so long, but..." Melody paused, swallowing the lump in her throat and willing herself not to cry -- from the guilt, the fear, or the worried look on Mar's face, she didn't know. "It's your herd. They've been snooping around close to here. They've been close for months now -- but it's okay! We can make a plan together to throw them off, right? Together we can --"
"What do you mean months?" interrupted Mar's shrill, panicked voice. She was on high alert ever since the words your herd left Melody's mouth, her heart hammering in her chest with dread. "How close? Have they talked to you? Why didn't you tell me sooner!?"
"I - they talked to me, but I didn't tell them where you are! I just didn't want to worry you! Please, Mar, I was only trying to protect you --"
"PROTECT ME?" Mar shouted in disbelief. How could Melody have been so careless with her life? Didn't she understand the risks of her former herd finding her? "They want to kill me, Melody! Not telling me isn't protecting me! They've been coming here for months and you said nothing to me! How could you?" Mar's emotions were an overwhelming mix of betrayal, fear, and heartbreak. She swam in circles around her little cave, suddenly feeling like the walls were closing in on her. She had no way to escape and her so-called friend didn't tell her that her would-be killers were here and asking about her whereabouts. "I've got to go," she decided, mostly talking to herself. "It's not safe anymore. I can't stay here." Mar started towards the exit, but was stopped in her path when Melody moved to block her.
"N-no, please, wait! Mar, you don't have to go. We can figure this out! We can... we can go somewhere else together! You're my best friend, please don't leave me," Melody begged. Her eyes burned, tears whisked away and swallowed up into the ocean the moment they escaped her eyes. She'd been so, so stupid. Why didn't she just tell Mar sooner? They could have avoided all of this! "My friend Casimir could help us, he's a good person! He'd want to help, I know it. Maybe we could go talk to him --"
"NO!" Mar rounded on Melody and snarled. "How can I trust you after this? I can't trust you! I don't want to hear anymore. I'm leaving, if you try to stop me again, I'll -- I'll use my claws!" It was the last thing Mar wanted to do. Melody had been a bright spot in her miserable life; she didn't want to hurt her. But after this -- she couldn't stay. Not for her, not for anyone. Mar shook hear head, with with a last hiss at Melody, she sped out of the cave and swam off into the vastness of the ocean.
"I'm so sorry," Melody sobbed, but no one was there to hear her. |
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Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2024 10:00 pm
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April 2024 Namely, do you remember that time you saw a cute little bunny with blood on it that happened to be not so cute, but rather a malevolent urban legend that chased you through the woods? It's been a whole year since then. When you come up on a cute bunny stallion and it's cute little bunny friend, you shouldn't worry right? RIGHT?!?!?! But you do, you know you do. When you come up on this "cute"....thing that's blocking your way out of a canyon, you are highly suspicious. And it acts clueless, as though it really has no clue how to do....anything? It's faking right? Truth is it's not faking. It's new to the area and really has no clue about life here. But, since you meet Sans Merci, you're just a little paranoid. Write 750 words per RPer on your encounter with this strange clueless bunny (He's new to the area!) and how you let your paranoia, that this might be another Shifter trap, get in the way. If you want, you can RP the prize as well (who probably has some opinions on how weird your being).
Parthenos was watching the stallion from a distance, hidden between some bushes. Large paws, long ears, a short fluffy tail... these weren't the traits of an average soquili. In fact, they reminded him quite a lot of that rabbit shifter he had encountered last year. He had to make sure there wasn't anyone else around in immediate danger before he left to inform Tarashikomi of the threat, so they could take care of him together. His little ear wings fluttered in agitation, ears laid back and eyes narrowed as the rabbit stallion searched around the canyon. Was he hunting!? Could he smell a creature nearby that Parthenos couldn't? He lowered him self down further into the bushes, eyes darting about the canyon to try and spot this unseen prey.
Unaware of the turmoil swirling around in Parthenos' mind, Llywelyn was making his way out of the canyon when he spotted the rabbit stallion. He seemed to be lost -- or perhaps he lost something? With no fear in his heart or thoughts of dangerous shifters, Llywelyn approached the stallion with a small smile. "Hello. Are you lost? Do you need help?" he offered with a gentle, kind voice.
The rabbit stallion's ears perked up when Llywelyn approached him, and smiled back at the kind stranger. "Yes, I --"
But he didn't get to finish his sentence. As soon as Llywelyn had approached the rabbit stallion, Parthenos leapt out of his hiding spot and charged towards the pair of larger soquili. "Watch out! Run, he's a shifter!" he shouted as he galloped towards them as fast as he could, aiming for the rabbit stallion's legs in an effort to knock him over. Both of the taller stallions leapt back away from each other at Parthenos' warning, and the little pixie missed his target. He skid to a stop in the dirt and whirled around with a huff, ready to face his attacker.
"Where!?" the rabbit stallion asked in an alarmed voice, eyes wide as he looked around to try and spot the shifter the pixie warned them about. But... he didn't see anyone else but the three of them in the canyon. "I don't see a shifter... where did you see it? Did you scare it off?" The pixie had made quite the ruckus when he came out of those bushes. Maybe the predator had decided to cut its losses after realizing it would be up against the three of them. That would be a relief!
Parthenos glared at the rabbit stallion. Did he think they were stupid!? Acting like he wasn't the shifter Parthenos was trying to warn about! "Don't play your games with us. You haven't fooled anyone. You're the shifter!" he accused, stomping his hoof down to make his point.
Llywelyn blinked, looking between the two soquili and trying to make sense of what was happening. The pixie thought the other stallion was a shifter? But... sure, he had some unique features, but Llywelyn couldn't see a pelt. He tilted his head as he observed the rabbit stallion, squinting his eyes, just to make sure, but... no, there wasn't a pelt. He was just a normal stallion with rabbit-like features, not unlike the little nymph soquili he'd seen before -- only much bigger. "Um..." he cleared his throat, trying to interrupt before the situation escalated, but wanting to be polite about it. "I don't think he's a shifter. He seemed lost? And, I don't see a pelt..."
The rabbit stallion nodded. "He's right. Well, I'm not lost, but I'm looking for my friend who is lost... but I'm certainly not a shifter!" He turned around to show off the rest of his body to the pixie's scrutinizing gaze, showing that there was no pelt on his body to be seen -- fused to his body or as decoration. The idea of wearing a creature's pelt on his body ran a chill down his spine. It seemed so... grotesque. "See?"
Parthenos stared. He couldn't believe it. It was so obvious now... the one key feature that set a shifter and a normal soquili apart. The pelt. Why hadn't he noticed? Was he that paranoid after his encounter with the white rabbit shifter? "Oh no," Parthenos muttered, clearly embarrassed. What must they think of him! "I-I'm so sorry. I thought... well, you know what I thought. I had an encounter with a rabbit shifter once and I just... well I've never seen a soquili like you before, so I just assumed..." he couldn't seem to finish a sentence, babbling through his apology.
The poor thing! Llywelyn cut in again, trying to switch topics so the little pixie could take a minute compose himself. "You said you were looking for someone?" he asked the rabbit stallion. "Maybe we can help. What do they look like?" Between the three of them, Llywelyn was sure they could find this stallion's friend.
"Oh -- yes! I would be grateful. She's my familiar, a little bunny. White and yellow, and she's wearing a bonnet with roses. I got distracted, but she didn't realize I had stopped walking and went on without me into the canyon... her name is Bonnie. Ah! And I'm Hazel. It's a pleasure to meet you both -- despite the first impressions," he said with a laugh. The pixie started to apologize for his mistake again, but just then, a small rabbit fitting Hazel's description hopped from around the corner and spotted them.
"Oh, Hazel, there you are!" Bonnie called out, hopping over to the group of soquili. "I see you made some new friends?" she asked, adjusting her bonnet and looking around at the other two with a smile. "Pleased to meet you! Thank you for finding my Hazel. He'd lose his own tail if it wasn't attached to his --"
"Hey!" |
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Posted: Thu May 30, 2024 10:17 pm
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May 2024 This month we're going to RP Cottagecore. What? Cottagecore is an aesthetic that celebrates simple living, particularly in the countryside. It encourages a lifestyle rooted in traditional skills—like baking bread, gardening, and sewing your own clothes. Write a 750 word RP minimum about Cottagecore. This can be a day in the life of your soquili, it can even be a story they tell about orcs opening bookshops wink. Whatever it is, it's about the simple living; about the joy. Hakuna Matata and all that!
The construction of their new home was taking far longer than Crowley anticipated, but he was patient. He wanted to make sure every little detail was perfect. He could tell living in that dingy cave was wearing on Aziraphale, but he wouldn't rush this. He wanted this to be a surprise, so he hadn't told Aziraphale anything about the project. That did make things a little difficult -- Crowley didn't have access to opposable thumbs like Aziraphale's human form, so there was only so much he could do in building a cottage. Luckily, he had been able to enlist in the help of several familiars and domained angeni that were able to do the bulk of the work. In return, he helped them with their gardens though his ulun'suti powers (in addition to his skill) and passed on his knowledge so that they were capable of keeping their plants healthy and fruitful. Plus, once he and Aziraphale moved into the cottage, he would be able to offer additional help should they need it in the future.
Aziraphale was anxious. For months, Crowley has been acting secretive, and even when they did spend time together, he seemed distracted -- and these past few weeks had been even worse! Any time Aziraphale attempted to find out what Crowley was up to, he would just mutter something about causing mischief or that he had plans, but would never elaborate. Crowley was hiding something -- he was sure of it. But what wouldn't he want Aziraphale to know? And after everything... why still keep secrets?
Maybe Aziraphale's fears were coming to light after all. The shared trauma and goals were what was keeping them together -- and now that they had their freedom, Crowley had no reason to stick around any longer. Was he looking for a new place to live? Did he have friends he'd never told Aziraphale about? And why wouldn't Crowley just talk to him?! He missed their conversations. He missed Crowley's company. Aziraphale didn't know how much longer he could put up with this kind of treatment. It was just... awful. And lonely.
He would talk to Crowley tomorrow, he decided. And he wouldn't let him run off again without getting answers.
---
The day was finally here. The cottage was done. Crowley had ended up staying the night in the cottage, finishing up the last little details. The cottage was a little bigger and fancier than Aziraphale's yurt had been. There were four rooms, all large enough to accommodate two big soquili comfortably, so plenty of space for him and Aziraphale. The main room doubled as an entryway and lounge, with doors on each side that led off into different rooms. The doorways were covered with sheets of fabric that could be tied back to the frames to keep open. One room was a dedicated library, with built-in bookshelves, a desk, and a chair for Aziraphale to sit in when he was in his human form. It was decorated sparsely with potted plants; most of the space would eventually be filled top to bottom with books and scrolls, so he didn't want to put too much else in there. There was also a bedroom with hay and nice, thick blankets arranged into a nest for sleeping on. It, too, had a bookshelf, and more potted plants to give the room some color and life, as well as a small table by the nest. The final room was another bedroom, but this one was filled with as many plants as Crowley was able to fit, with his nest situated in the middle of the room. There were open spaces in the walls of every room for windows, with shutters on the outside to close on especially rainy or windy days.
Except for Crowley's bedroom, the inside was crafted with Aziraphale's tastes in mind. The outside, however, was Crowley's playground. A wide variety of flowers decorated the front, under the windows of each side of the doorway and around the sides of the house. The back was -- or, at least, would eventually be -- Crowley's pride and joy. A garden for a healthy range of fruits and vegetables. He only had a few to start with, but over time he hoped to be able to grow all the food they could eat. With the right set up, he was hoping to attempt to cultivate some mushrooms too. It wasn't something he's tried to grow himself before, but with the right environment and a good talking to, he's sure it was something he could pull off.
Now all he had to do was fetch Aziraphale.
When Aziraphale woke to find Crowley's side of the cave empty, his heart sank. Had he even come home last night? In a decidedly sour mood, Aziraphale got up to continue with his usual morning routine. After breakfast, he decided to try to cheer himself up with some hot cocoa and a book. Cocoa was hard to come by and he was nearly out, but it usually helped to lift his spirits... but this time, Aziraphale was struggling to push through his morose mood long enough to even take a sip. He didn't know how much time had passed since he settled down to read and stared blankly at the pages in front of him, but he was started out of his thoughts by the sound of flapping wings and a heavy landing at the entrance to the cave. When he looked down at his drink, he realized it had gone cold. A wasted cup of cocoa. When he heard Crowley calling for him, he couldn't help but bristle in irritation.
"Angel!" Crowley called, trotting into the cave with a grin on his face. When he found Aziraphale in his little reading nook, Crowley's grin widened. "I've got something to show you."
"Do you now?" Aziraphale replied coolly, leveling Crowley with an unimpressed stare.
Crowley faltered. That... wasn't exactly the greeting he'd expected to get. Clearly, he'd missed something. "Er. Well, yes." He hesitated, then gestured towards the exit with a wing. "Shall we... go, then?"
Aziraphale stood up abruptly with a frustrated huff. "I don't want to go anywhere until you actually talk to me. Where have you been running off to these last few months? You've been secretive, and -- and distracted! Do you even remember a word I've said to you this past week? Yesterday?"
Taken aback, Crowley immediately went on the defensive. What was Aziraphale talking about? Sure, he's been secretive, but it wasn't like he was ignoring Aziraphale! They still spent time together! "Of course I do!" he snapped. "We were talking about..." he faltered again, wracking his brain to try and remember. He had been paying attention... hadn't he? "Uh... oh, bullocks," he muttered, wincing when he noticed Aziraphale raise an eyebrow at him. "You're right, I've been distracted, but if you just come with me it'll explain everything, I swear," he pleaded.
Aziraphale deflated, the anger draining from him. They really weren't good at talking to each other, were they? "Alright," he agreed, voice soft. "I apologize. I'm not angry, but... you didn't come home last night. What if something had happened to you? It doesn't bother me when you go out, but when you don't tell me anything -- well. We can't know for certain that we haven't been followed. Our adversaries simply couldn't have let us go so easily."
Crowley shook his head. "Believe me, angel, I haven't forgotten. I see your point." Aziraphale usually did tell Crowley what he was up to when he was going out. So did Crowley, for that matter -- but not lately. "I've been working on a not-so-little project these last few months. Meant for it to be a surprise. Would still rather show you than tell you, though."
"A surprise? For me?" When Crowley nodded, Aziraphale felt so foolish. All this time, Crowley had been trying to do something nice for him, and he'd gotten yelled for his trouble. "Oh, dear, I'm sor --"
"Nope," Crowley interrupted, popping the p. "None of that, now. I should've said something, I could have managed a secret and still kept us both safe. Not too keen on the idea of the hellish legions offing me and leaving my body to rot, thanks. Come on, lemme show you what I've done, promise you'll be so pleased that we'll forget all about this mix up." When Aziraphale smiled softly and agreed, Crowley's heart fluttered and they head out together.
---
When they arrived, it was a little bit a ways away from where they landed. Aziraphale followed Crowley though the trees until they came to a clearing, and he gasped. The cottage was darling, and the gardens in the front were filled with lovely yellow flowers amidst a few other colors scattered around to make them pop. "Oh, Crowley, it's beautiful! I can't believe you've built us a cottage. This is incredible!"
Feeling rather pleased with himself, Crowley tried to play it cool with a nonchalant shrug. "Nyeh, had some help. Couldn't live in that dingy cave forever, could we? Knew you were missing your creature comforts. Ssssaw you, how antsy you were getting. Got a garden for myself in the back for me, too. Grow anything you want." With a sharp, amused grin, he added, "even growing an apple tree out there."
Aziraphale laughed, eyes a little teary from the lovely gesture. "Fiend," he teased. "I wasn't antsy, as you say, from living in the cave. I was worried about you. Not just getting into danger, but -- oh, it's so silly, now," Aziraphale tittered, feeling embarrassed, but noticed that Crowley was waiting patiently for him to continue. "Well, if you must know, I thought... maybe we were drifting apart. You didn't seem interested in our discussions anymore, you were hardly around..."
"What? No, it'ssss the exact opposite, angel." Crowley scrunched up his nose, thinking of his actions over the past few months. "Didn't realize how bad it got." With another grin, Crowley raised an eyebrow at Aziraphale. "Won't be getting rid of me that easy. Got a bedroom set up in there all for me. One for you, too. Didn't decorate too much, know you've got your trinkets and things. Not much for decorations, me. But you know how to make everything nice and cozy. The flower gardens, too. I draw the line at garden gnomes or lawn flamingos, though," he warned with a disgusted curl of his lip. "None of that kitschy stuff to ruin all my hard work."
Aziraphale laughed again, delighted, feeling warm and loved. "I wouldn't dream of it, dear," he promised, eyes twinkling with mischief. He could certainly agree with the lawn flamingos, but a garden gnome would just be darling. He was so looking forward to moving in to their new home. It was true, he didn't like the cave -- but Crowley had been there, so it was perfect. This would be even better. With a dreamy smile, he and Crowley went inside to look around the incredible gift Crowley had built for him. |
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