118 Vhalar, 723
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There was a buzzing laugh, like a colony of bees had just dodged an accumulation of phlegm in an old man’s throat, burrowing up out of blackened lungs from too many years spent inhaling cigars. The laughter came from a stout man, who most likely wasn’t a man at all. He had...

40 Zi'da, 723
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The smell of coffee leaked through the curtainless windows. The shop was busy with a bustle of people. Some sat at oblong tables with stiff wooden legs, drinking copious quantities of herbal tea. Others heralded a change of pace that mimicked the distress of needing a cup of...

Vhalar 31, 723
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Why did sad music make people sad? Was there some underlying wavelength that interloped with the emotions of those who listened? Were the recipients of such musical genius destined to encounter a melancholic fate? Was it something that could not be ignored by peoples’ ears? Was...

55 Vhalar, 723
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Kotton had been in rapt awe after having met his new therapist/healer, so much so that he had requested to book another session for the following week. The weekend came and went terribly slow, but finally gave way to the much anticipated day.

They hadn’t made much headway...

Saun 40, 723
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Kotton’s hand was cramping from finding consolation in his journal. He had a penchant for writing when his mind became too enamored with thoughts. He had been writing for almost an hour now, nonstop. Without so much as a second glance at his many grammatical errors, his pencil...

31 Saun, 723
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Kotton scanned the surface of the lake, relieved at the occasional sight of a bobbing head, a flailing arm, and nothing that screamed ‘help me!’. He watched as his game partner flutter-kicked, doggy-paddled, did… whatever she was doing now, apparently… until she finally made it...

YMIDEN 57, 723
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Kotton had always gotten angry when he accidentally dropped something, even more so if his metaphorical candle wick was already smoking; the embers only needing that additional breath of oxygen to really get his pissed off-ness going. But he never stopped to take a breath and...

42 Vhalar, 723
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Kotton was no quitter except for those times that he was, so here he went giving therapy another try. After the latest session, he had taken a step back and figuratively shut his systems down. He had tried to reason with his father about the absolute pointlessness in talking to...

Vhalar 52, 723
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The dirt was studded by the prints of midnight beasts. Kotton couldn’t get his mind off how strange his dream had been last night. It wasn’t one he was lucid in making it all that more fascinating. But what had he been doing? Tracking down a monster? Following the tracks of a...

19 Vhalar, 723
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“So…”

“There’s no way that happened, Kotton.”

“But it did!”

“Alright, okay, fine. I believe you. But even still, that’s impressive, considering you…”

Kotton narrowed his eyes. “Considewing I- what?” The ending word held unadulterated spice.

Worick paused for an indefinite...

26 Saun, 723
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The dining table was set. Kotton had a plate placed in front of him and another on the floor for Imogen. In addition, he made sure an extra plate had been positioned across the table for the spirit he hoped would come.

Kotton had been caught off guard upon learning what the date...

91 Vhalar, 723
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Kotton was someone who easily learnt from his mistakes. It was a mixture of a multitude of things- his eagerness to make no similar error: he liked to make people happy, which bordered on the line into people pleasing with ignorant grandeur; he hated to be wrong, which was...

16 Zi'da, 723
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Kotton’s lips found the edge of his wine glass. He tilted the glass as he pulled from the bittersweet liquid held within. There were notes of cherry, cedar, almond. He would have to regale these facets at a later date during a correspondence with his personal journal.

His...

43 Zi'da, 723
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Kotton was as uncomfortable as a pudgy cat forced into a chipmunk’s hidey hole. He was stationed in an unpadded seat across an unceremoneous table wearing the most ridiculous attire his father could have unburied. It had been at the bottom of the family chest, he had said. And...

SAUN 4, 723
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Kotton knew he wasn't very strong, so he sought to be less weak. His virtues and morals, his ethos and high regards for equality, were bound so tightly within his making that their power necessitated additional assistance. He understood that words alone did not always suffice. He...

YMIDEN 30, 723
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Jarusha was a long time friend. She was someone he had met in intermediate school, but someone he hadn’t spent much time with since. It wasn’t until she had found him lounging against a counter at a local bar that they had started to hit things off again. She was still the...

31 Saun, 723
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This time, Kotton grabbed his partner’s arm and led toward the direction of their next objective. The creepy alleyway to the left of the tavern they had just exited would give anyone with a right mind the heebie jeebies, but the game’s instructions had been clear. And Kotton...

Vhalar 63, 723
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There was someone at work who Kotton despised. If his heart could transcend outside his ribcage, it would revolt, relish a weapon and strike this man down for all his worth. He was that kind of person. Always doing the bare minimum, always placing things in the wrong place...

31 Saun, 723
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Kotton and his friends (but really they were Worick’s friends) had thought of a fun idea to help satiate their hot cycle boredom. They had been creating a kind of ‘escape game/strategy puzzle/adventure’ during the free time they had in between their jobs and family life. Worick...

Saun 723

I think it's a fun idea. Robin asked Balthazar as the mage took off his boots. The Feats of Strength was hosting a derby of sorts throughout the early trials of Saun. In an attempt to help everyone get their minds off of the troubles that had so recently passed, Balthazar and a few...

YMIDEN 24, 723
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At his job there were certain things Kotton could understand, but there were more things he couldn’t. He didn't understand how someone could consciously put a bottle in the wrong section of the fridge, especially if the sections of the fridge were labelled. He couldn’t...

54 Ymiden 723

Something was happening. Ulric could feel it in the back of his thoughts and his gut. He could feel something coming. He just didn't know what it was. He was beginning to feel like he had felt before he died, before Etzos, and before he'd even met Corvus. He found himself visiting...

Vhalar 28, 723
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If he stared hard enough at the couch cushion, the stitching of the edges began to waver. The line work vibrated; it moved up and down in a continuous rhythm, but it was a rhythm too quick for him to substantially analyse. Kotton’s brain focused on the pulse of the cushion like...

34 Saun, 723
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Kotton had no idea where he was. It just seemed like brick wall after brick wall after brick wall after... It was getting tedious, exhausting, and his blurry memory made him a tad bit anxious. Where had he been previous to where he was now?

He liked gin; he remembered that much....

Vhalar 70, 723
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The glass slid across the bar. The sloshing of liquid over the rim of the glass and succeeding mess on the granite beneath did not sway him. It wasn't his job to be cleanly. It was his job to drink and be drunk. He watched the alcohol oscillate back and forth, back and forth in...