[Silver]

The air is tense and still. Everything is quiet, almost eerily so. Those in tune with the mysteries of the world may feel uneasy, as if they know something strange is about to happen. The forest in the farmlands seems to call out to them, beckoning them closer, as if it were a child calling out for help.

First, there is a sound. It is faint but distinct. A light tinkling as if someone is shaking a small bell, the kind a pet Myu Reaper might wear on a collar. Tinkle. Tinkle. Crash. It sounds as if something has fallen into a shallow pool of ice, cracking and destroying it. Tinkle. Tinkle. Crash. It happens again.

Upon further investigation, there is a pile of paper thin ice shards laying on top of the snow... and another. Bending down to discover one might produce even more nearby. Soon, travelers might realize that they seem to fit together, although touching them with bare skin melts them instantly.

If they are lucky (or clever), one might realize that the shards of ice fit together to make delicate little Lunaflies made entirely of ice. They flap their frigid wings once or twice before crashing to the ground. Maybe if they were caught, or somehow put back together, they could be saved...


❄ Posts in this thread are worth double points until midnight on the 18th. You may continue to use this thread after the 18th, but posts made after the deadline are no longer worth double.
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[Jaykobell]

[Down to RP with others, but poke me in Discord or PMs first! :>]

"Finn, sweetie, I am so proud of you!"

A young boy wrapped up in winter gear was trying to tune out the words. Ever since he had spoken up about something bothering him, his aunt had been repeating the same few praises over and over again. And while he did appreciate her incredible support and her willingness to come out here, in the heart of winter, he was trying to focus.

"So this is the place?" his aunt asked, bundled up in winter clothes just as her nephew was. "Where you felt something calling you?"

[Bonus - 1]

[Jaykobell]

Finn tried to focus on pinpointing the source of his uneasy feeling. Beyond the winter wonderland in front of him, he couldn't see much. He couldn't see much, but he thought he could hear... something. It was faint, just a small sound in the distance—

"Finn, sweetie, you're growing up so fast!" his aunt piped up, interrupting his thoughts — again.

"Um..." he mumbled, glancing at his aunt, but returning his attention to the landscape ahead. "Th-thanks auntie Maggie." Maybe expressing gratitude — more than he already had — would calm down his aunt.

[Bonus - 2]

[Jaykobell]

"Of course honey!" Maggie replied, putting her hands on her nephew's shoulders and rocking him a bit affectionately. "I knew it the moment you were born honey, you're a powerful witch!" She sighed and put a hand to her face whimsically. "Maybe even more powerful than your own talented auntie!"

Finn returned to tuning out his aunt. Where was the sound coming from? Something didn't sit right with him, and he truly did want to find out what it was — even if part of the motivation was to be rid of this uneasy feeling in his stomach.

[Bonus - 3]

[Jaykobell]

There was little around them. Finn could see an old barn in the distance, and a small forest just a little ways away. That was the only scenery around them besides the road and fence where the two of them stood. And while they were definitely close to whatever was making Finn uncomfortable, they weren't quite there yet, either.

And although Maggie was quick to call her nephew such an incredibly talented witch, Finn didn't share as much enthusiasm. "Auntie Maggie?" he asked quietly, looking up at her. "Don't you feel something weird here too?"

[Bonus - 4]

[Jaykobell]

Maggie dropped the whimsical act when Finn asked her the question. "Oh, of course I do, honey," she said nonchalantly.

Finn's expression shifted from timid curiosity to surprise and confusion. "Huh?" he blurted out for an answer. "B-but back home you said..." He had been getting a bad feeling for a few days, and when he had asked his aunt about it, she'd denied feeling the same way.

"Oh, I didn't really feel it back home," Maggie explained, "but I feel it much more now!" When Finn's expression didn't let up, she added, "Besides, this is your adventure, honey!"

[Bonus - 5]

[Jaykobell]

"My... adventure?" Finn echoed with clear confusion. Even though he somewhat had an idea of what that meant, in this context, he wasn't sure he really got it.

"Of course!" Maggie confirmed. "Witches don't get better and don't sharpen their skills just by sitting at home, Finnie!" she explained. "I didn't really get that bad feeling you got back home. So that means this is something you're meant to do! Or, well, something like that," she said, laughing at the end. "I'm just here for emotional support!"

[Bonus - 6]

[Jaykobell]

Finn blinked slowly as he processed the information. "Right..." he mumbled, and he turned his attention away again. Something he ought to do? He wasn't even sure what that was supposed to be — he had a certain sadness in his stomach, that something was happening here — but he had no idea what to do about it.

And while he was glad to be here, he did wish his aunt would help. She always had so much faith in his powers, but he couldn't share her confidence.

[Bonus - 7]

[Jaykobell]

It seemed that was the statement Maggie had wanted to say, because following that, she stayed quiet. Finn was left to observe their surroundings and to try and make sense of his purpose for being here. And, were they anywhere more familiar — like a forest, a swamp, or something with more details — he might be able to figure something out.

But in a scenery of complete white with barely anything else, Finn struggled to find anything pertinent. He could hear that small, subtle noise, but...

[Bonus - 8]

[Jaykobell]

Still, Finn kept on looking. The snow crunched under his boots, but the sounds didn't help in figuring out what was wrong. "Um..." he mumbled to himself, his mind going in circles. It was looking for something, but it didn't know what, and it couldn't see anything. So what was he supposed to do? His brain went around on this loop for a while.

He could definitely feel his aunt behind him. She was restless, rocking her body back and forth, her arms folded behind her back.

[Bonus - 9]

[Jaykobell]

He could hear the humming and the soft crunching of snow as his aunt fiddled in place. And at this point, he couldn't tell which one was more aggravating: his aunt, or the fact he couldn't figure this out on his own.

But the cold was starting to seep into his bones, and he didn't want to stay out there forever. "Um... Auntie Maggie?" he asked hesitantly, turning to face his aunt. "Did you... notice anything?"

Maggie acted shocked as Finn asked for her help. "Who, me?" she asked, and then she giggled. "Well, maybe," she added with a wink.

[Bonus - 10]

[Jaykobell]

Finn waited for his aunt to answer and help, but all she did was smile at him in silence. After a short moment of awkward silence, Finn awkwardly asked, "Um, I don't know..." His voice trailed off as he tried to think of the right words. "I can't find anything," he finally admitted, embarrassed.

But Maggie remained undeterred. "Oh, Finnie," she laughed, "it's not all about seeing. We came here because you felt something, remember?" she reminded him, and she tapped a foot against the snowy earth.

[Bonus - 11]

[Jaykobell]

Finn blinked at his aunt's hint. He looked down at the moving foot, tapping the snow, and then tried to match the words to the action. So in this scenery, where everything meshed together, he couldn't see anything. So then, was there something he could feel in the snow? Was that the answer?

He frowned, deep in thought, and he started walking. He didn't expect to see anything, so he tried to feel a difference in his steps, and he tried to pay attention to the sounds of his steps.

[Bonus - 12]

[Jaykobell]

At first, nothing was unusual. The footsteps sounded normal, and again, he was getting nervous that he was misunderstanding, and that his being here was all a fluke.

That was when he heard something. His step met some resistance, and when it did hit the ground, the sound was different. Instead of snow, it almost sounded like he had just stepped on...

Glass?

He lifted his foot. At first glance, he could see nothing. So he bent down, and finally, he felt like he was making progress.

[Bonus - 13]

[Jaykobell]

When Finn stopped to look at his footsteps, Maggie approached her nephew. "Oh, so you found it!" she declared happily, her voice oozing with pride.

Although Finn nodded, he wasn't sure what he had found, and what he was looking at. "I did, but what is it?" he mused, asking both himself and his aunt. Even now, as he looked at what he had found — or stepped on, really — it was difficult to figure out, since it had shattered, for the most part, and then melted for the other part.

[Bonus - 14]