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Description

Life… it was built of cycles.

Ayla had watched these cycles, and learned more about them.

Some were simple, and easy to understand. Like the cycle of day and night. The sun seemed to roll about the sky, slow and steady, warming and cooling the earth, and providing her with light to see better, or night, to think deeply and feel.

Some cycles were longer, and she realized that before her transformation, she hadn’t even felt a full season cycle yet. She’d learned of it over time though, the cycle of warmth and cold, that the sun warmed the earth and grew everything up, only so that the humans could come and flatten her home every autumn, trampling the grass and blaring their sounds and lights, until it became too cold even for them, and they retreated far down the roadway, into the city in the distance. Then came the ice and cold. The first few winters were the hardest, as she tried to learn to control her phasing and attachment to the physical plane. It was difficult to ignore the cold, and she found herself still feeling its icy grip, crippling her heart and body.

As time went on, she found herself capable of ignoring the desire to stay within her little clearing, for a time at least. She wandered into the woods, and further sometimes, but the nagging itch to return home always chewed at her mind. The more she saw of the world, the more she hated returning home. It seemed to control her every whim, where she could go, when, and how long she could stay away.

During one summer, she found herself called somewhere else, which was exciting, and intrigued her greatly. She found that many esks had felt the call as well, and the great adventure that transpired within the plains that summer changed her deeply. That is a story for another time, but it left her with more hope, and new friends, and most notably, a strange new power.

She found that she could draw upon her strength, to conjure a crackling blue cloud. It rolled about her angrily at first, lightning zapping within its curls, before calming and trailing about more peacefully. It had the effect of being quite calming when used, and she began using it whenever she felt the pain creep back into her mind. She continued learning about her newfound power, and asked 40 about it when she next saw him.

Over the years, he had taught her much, and had introduced her to who had now become, her very dearest friend. Liet was a bubbly excitable spirit, who taught her more about emotions than 40 ever could have. They would visit each other often, Liet traveling excitedly to Ayla’s clearing, bounding about and playing with the squirrels, and Ayla traveling nervously to Liet’s fen. Tiptoeing through the forest, trying to ignore the siren-like call of her boundary.

As time went on, although Ayla grew stronger, it seemed that the call of her boundary grew stronger as well. She found herself desiring to explore, to travel the world and see all that she could, but she could never shake the feeling of dread.

The nightmares were growing in strength as well. She saw the ghost of her mother, it was different than the mother she remembered though, it was dark, dripping with pain and hunger. “You left me…” it would whisper, hissing between the trees. “You left. You never came back.”

Guilt wracked her tiny body, and she shook, the small patch of grass shuddering in the dark.

The dark shadow of her mother lunged at her, bleating in anger, or was it terror? She never could tell, but she’d awake with a start, face soaked with tears. Her sides heaved and she’d look up at the moon, sobbing. “I’m sorry mother...I never knew…”

It was a night like this, the cold was coming. The leaves were going gold, and the knowledge that the noise and lights would be rolling into her home soon brought her to the very edge of her mind. She felt twitchy and nervous, anxiety gripping her tightly. She had finally gotten to sleep, desperate for some small respite. The dreams refused to let her rest though, and before she knew what was happening, she was running.

Fear and anxiety washed over her, and fragments of memory melding with reality as she stumbled headlong through the forest. “Was it all a dream?” she found herself wondering, was she still just a fawn? Starving and cold? Running through the forest in search of safety, her mother? No...sadly it was not true, she realized her legs were clipping through the branches, and her nightmare shadow of a mother seemed to gawk at her from behind every tree.

“YOU LEFT ME! I’M SO LONELY!”

She cried, tears scattering behind her as she ran.

“I’M SO LONELY!” she heard, and then realized she was the one who’d said it.

She ran for hours, and as the sunrise crept across the forest floor, she collapsed, exhausted, and slept.

Days later, she found herself waking again. Everything felt wrong. She tried to find her energy, her happiness, but all failed her. She felt hollow and lonely. Her boundary called to her, but she ignored it. She ached, everywhere. Head hung low, she just started walking. She knew if she returned home, it would only be overrun with loud humans. She couldn’t stand the thought, and she felt numb.

On she walked...aimless and empty. She couldn’t go home, she couldn’t stand to bring her pain onto her friends… and so she hollowed herself out, sadness and despair. She didn’t know why her feet moved, but they did. On and on, for weeks. The days blurred together for her, and so too did her surroundings. Through many biomes she trekked, but she was blind to it all. Never had she felt such sadness.

---

Could she ever find peace? Did she even deserve happiness?

---

All she wanted...was happiness…

Someone…

Help me please…

PROMPT # 11 and 12
FOR ESK # 1182
Read entire Literature on toyhouse here : toyhou.se/~literature/7073.tww…

Originally posted on Nov 17, 2020

11 is the art, of her common form;
Base Score: 10 AP (Shaded Illustration)
+5 AP (Full Body)
+50 AP (Origin Prompt)
+5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)
Total AP per submission: 70

Base Score: 4 GP (Shaded Illustration)
+2 GP (Full Body)
+10 GP (Origin Prompt)
Total GP per submission: 16

12 is the writing; Score
Base Score: 20 AP (Writing: 1012 words)
+50 AP (Origin Prompt)
+1 AP (Enchantment: 1 AP * 1)
+5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)
+8 AP (Storyteller Bonus: 8 AP * 1)
Total AP per submission: 84

Base Score: 10 GP (Writing: 1012 words)
+10 GP (Origin Prompt)
+1 GP (Enchantment: 1 GP * 1)
+6 GP (Storyteller Bonus: 6 GP * 1)
Total GP per submission: 27

In This Art:
The creature(s) in this artwork are a nature spirit Closed Species called "Esk", owned by witherlings and are the focus of the ARPG "ThoseWhoWentMissing" .

My Art:
- Do not copy/trace/reproduce/repost my artwork.
- Character owners may upload to toyhouse/character sites with credit.
- Do not base characters off of me, my characters, or my art.
- Do not draw or write about characters in my art without asking.

Description

Life… it was built of cycles.

Ayla had watched these cycles, and learned more about them.

Some were simple, and easy to understand. Like the cycle of day and night. The sun seemed to roll about the sky, slow and steady, warming and cooling the earth, and providing her with light to see better, or night, to think deeply and feel.

Some cycles were longer, and she realized that before her transformation, she hadn’t even felt a full season cycle yet. She’d learned of it over time though, the cycle of warmth and cold, that the sun warmed the earth and grew everything up, only so that the humans could come and flatten her home every autumn, trampling the grass and blaring their sounds and lights, until it became too cold even for them, and they retreated far down the roadway, into the city in the distance. Then came the ice and cold. The first few winters were the hardest, as she tried to learn to control her phasing and attachment to the physical plane. It was difficult to ignore the cold, and she found herself still feeling its icy grip, crippling her heart and body.

As time went on, she found herself capable of ignoring the desire to stay within her little clearing, for a time at least. She wandered into the woods, and further sometimes, but the nagging itch to return home always chewed at her mind. The more she saw of the world, the more she hated returning home. It seemed to control her every whim, where she could go, when, and how long she could stay away.

During one summer, she found herself called somewhere else, which was exciting, and intrigued her greatly. She found that many esks had felt the call as well, and the great adventure that transpired within the plains that summer changed her deeply. That is a story for another time, but it left her with more hope, and new friends, and most notably, a strange new power.

She found that she could draw upon her strength, to conjure a crackling blue cloud. It rolled about her angrily at first, lightning zapping within its curls, before calming and trailing about more peacefully. It had the effect of being quite calming when used, and she began using it whenever she felt the pain creep back into her mind. She continued learning about her newfound power, and asked 40 about it when she next saw him.

Over the years, he had taught her much, and had introduced her to who had now become, her very dearest friend. Liet was a bubbly excitable spirit, who taught her more about emotions than 40 ever could have. They would visit each other often, Liet traveling excitedly to Ayla’s clearing, bounding about and playing with the squirrels, and Ayla traveling nervously to Liet’s fen. Tiptoeing through the forest, trying to ignore the siren-like call of her boundary.

As time went on, although Ayla grew stronger, it seemed that the call of her boundary grew stronger as well. She found herself desiring to explore, to travel the world and see all that she could, but she could never shake the feeling of dread.

The nightmares were growing in strength as well. She saw the ghost of her mother, it was different than the mother she remembered though, it was dark, dripping with pain and hunger. “You left me…” it would whisper, hissing between the trees. “You left. You never came back.”

Guilt wracked her tiny body, and she shook, the small patch of grass shuddering in the dark.

The dark shadow of her mother lunged at her, bleating in anger, or was it terror? She never could tell, but she’d awake with a start, face soaked with tears. Her sides heaved and she’d look up at the moon, sobbing. “I’m sorry mother...I never knew…”

It was a night like this, the cold was coming. The leaves were going gold, and the knowledge that the noise and lights would be rolling into her home soon brought her to the very edge of her mind. She felt twitchy and nervous, anxiety gripping her tightly. She had finally gotten to sleep, desperate for some small respite. The dreams refused to let her rest though, and before she knew what was happening, she was running.

Fear and anxiety washed over her, and fragments of memory melding with reality as she stumbled headlong through the forest. “Was it all a dream?” she found herself wondering, was she still just a fawn? Starving and cold? Running through the forest in search of safety, her mother? No...sadly it was not true, she realized her legs were clipping through the branches, and her nightmare shadow of a mother seemed to gawk at her from behind every tree.

“YOU LEFT ME! I’M SO LONELY!”

She cried, tears scattering behind her as she ran.

“I’M SO LONELY!” she heard, and then realized she was the one who’d said it.

She ran for hours, and as the sunrise crept across the forest floor, she collapsed, exhausted, and slept.

Days later, she found herself waking again. Everything felt wrong. She tried to find her energy, her happiness, but all failed her. She felt hollow and lonely. Her boundary called to her, but she ignored it. She ached, everywhere. Head hung low, she just started walking. She knew if she returned home, it would only be overrun with loud humans. She couldn’t stand the thought, and she felt numb.

On she walked...aimless and empty. She couldn’t go home, she couldn’t stand to bring her pain onto her friends… and so she hollowed herself out, sadness and despair. She didn’t know why her feet moved, but they did. On and on, for weeks. The days blurred together for her, and so too did her surroundings. Through many biomes she trekked, but she was blind to it all. Never had she felt such sadness.

---

Could she ever find peace? Did she even deserve happiness?

---

All she wanted...was happiness…

Someone…

Help me please…

PROMPT # 11 and 12
FOR ESK # 1182
Read entire Literature on toyhouse here : toyhou.se/~literature/7073.tww…

Originally posted on Nov 17, 2020

11 is the art, of her common form;
Base Score: 10 AP (Shaded Illustration)
+5 AP (Full Body)
+50 AP (Origin Prompt)
+5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)
Total AP per submission: 70

Base Score: 4 GP (Shaded Illustration)
+2 GP (Full Body)
+10 GP (Origin Prompt)
Total GP per submission: 16

12 is the writing; Score
Base Score: 20 AP (Writing: 1012 words)
+50 AP (Origin Prompt)
+1 AP (Enchantment: 1 AP * 1)
+5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)
+8 AP (Storyteller Bonus: 8 AP * 1)
Total AP per submission: 84

Base Score: 10 GP (Writing: 1012 words)
+10 GP (Origin Prompt)
+1 GP (Enchantment: 1 GP * 1)
+6 GP (Storyteller Bonus: 6 GP * 1)
Total GP per submission: 27

In This Art:
The creature(s) in this artwork are a nature spirit Closed Species called "Esk", owned by witherlings and are the focus of the ARPG "ThoseWhoWentMissing" .

My Art:
- Do not copy/trace/reproduce/repost my artwork.
- Character owners may upload to toyhouse/character sites with credit.
- Do not base characters off of me, my characters, or my art.
- Do not draw or write about characters in my art without asking.