SKETCHPAGES; Installment #8!

She nodded and smiled again.

"I think I can guess the rest of your story from then on."

I grinned and walked on in silence. Every now and then she would point out some danger and beauty that sometimes I could see, sometimes I couldn't. We made small talk, normally about the metal bird or the politics of this land.

"Here, in this world, we have a queen, who is grandmother to four princesses. Each controls a small part or category of the realm. I am good friends with each of them. A king or queen rules over this land as long as they are living, or as long as the public wishes them to stay. It is a lifelong decision and they must listen to and obey the wishes of the people."

I nodded, understanding. She went on, speaking of manners, people of large status, and ranks. They had not cars, but carriages and chariots pulled by tame animals of any kind. Dresses and suits were common among the nobles, hunters, questers, and heroes wore the kind of clothes we were wearing. Hunters hunted for food or prize. Questers went around looking for quests or deeds they could do to earn a Hero status. Treasure hunters went in that category of clothing as well. Well known heroes are as respected as aristocrats. Animal Friends are rare people who can commune with the animal kingdom and go around helping the creatures of the wild and gaining trust and presents in return. They are very rare. Wizards and witches wore normal clothes and were very common. Each magical person has a special talent. Some are employed by royalty, and wear special robes. Wise women and fortune tellers are experts at their craft , are always right and give good advice. Seeing small abnormalities among the public is to be expected and does not necessarily mean magic runs through their veins. Some examples are animals ears, wings, tails, fur, and other animalistic features. Another category is that of Angel. Angels do not come from heaven or anything, they are merely people who have a special sixth sense that tells them when and where someone's life is in danger. Angels are known for being fair and very quick in traveling to their intended destination. They are to be respected. Ghosts are common and spirits, though sometimes kind, are to be careful of. I absorbed this all. The lowest rank is common. Farmers, laborers, etc are nonmagical people that live normal lives. They are treated decently, though and always paid for their services. The lowest rank, however, is the lowest of the low. Her face darkened as she spoke of this. They are called the oath breakers when a name is needed though most generally avoid speaking about them. They are the breakers of the peace. Robbers, dark magic practicers, and all the other dark spots of cities are locked up under spells and key and given therapy. If they see the err of their ways, they are set free and watched. Vandals, however are welcome as long as they use their paint for art. If they write criticism or their name, they are warned but given a private space to do art instead of the buildings. I asked about fairies, leprechauns, pixies, dragons, sphinxes, and whatnot. They all existed, and mythologists study them. There are museums, but no zoos. We continued talking as we walked through the forest. Finally, we stopped at the edge of the forest. We had made it out. I heard Jay sigh with relief. I glanced at her, amused.

"Glad to be out?"

She nodded and grinned.

"I've been through that forest more times then I can count, but each time I make it out I am thankful."

I nodded, remembering the demon flowers. A question occurred to me.

"Jay, what rank is your sister? And you? And what is my rank?"

She answered breezily

"I am a hero, my sister is an Angel, and you...."

She thought for a moment.

"I think you may be an Animal Friend."

I was surprised, but pleased. I smiled and she smiled back. We set up a lovely meal right at the edge of the forest and talked and laughed until our stomachs were full. We digested for a while, then packed everything up and moved on, now following a dirt road. My legs hurt and my feet were sore, but I was determined not to stop. Jay explained that once we got to the Castle City, we would go find an old friend of hers that could lend us good rooms. When the sun started to go down, we were still walking. A carriage pulled by winged horses came up behind us.

"Jay! Jay, is that you?"

As the carriage passed us, a blond head poked out of the window, along with a waving arm. Jay grinned broadly and waved back.

"Why, if it isn't Fauna! Fauna, where are you off to?"

Fauna, the girl laughed and said

"You daft duck, me and Flora are headed home of course! You want a ride? Your friend looks like she could use a rest!"

I laughed and followed Jay as we clambered into the carriage. Once we were in, it started up again. Inside, it was very roomy and pleasantly cool with plush velvet seats facing each other. Once we had gotten comfortable, I examined the two people sitting across from us. The blond haired girl, the one who had waved, was about my age with freckles and a slight tan, wearing the same clothes as Jay, only green. Next to her, looking a couple years younger and very shy, was a light skinned girl with long black hair half covering her face. She wore a light green dress covered in plants, birds and bugs. She had light blue eyes, and Fauna had light green. Jay introduced me.

"Fauna, this is Tweet. I found her in the forest and she's trying to get back home. Tweet, this is one of the princesses I was telling you about, Princess Fauna.”

Fauna grinned and held out a hand to shake.

“Well, I figure you must be okay if Jay’s given you a nickname. What’s your real name?”

I shook her hand. 

“I’m Emiline.”

“What region are you from? You don’t look like you come from here.”

“Tweet here came from District 101 E.”

Jay interrupted.

“Oh. Well, at least you have protection from Jay. You should be careful if you don’t know your way around.”

“Tweet kind of fell in on us, but she has regained her balance and is a natural. Fast learner, too. And she has an Aura.”

An expression of awe crossed Fauna’s face.

“An Aura? Wow! And from District 101 E! How long has she been here?”

I popped back into their conversation. 

“Last night was my first night here.”

Fauna nodded, looking more interested as she gazed at me.

“Well, if you have an Aura, let’s see it.”

I clicked the catch on my locket and Frost leaped out. He nuzzled me and I hugged him. I was surprised at how much I had missed him. The girl sitting beside Fauna let out a little ‘oh’ at seeing Frost. Frost turned and sniffed her, then licked her cheek.

Jay laughed and said

“I am sorry princess, but your silence caused me to forget my manners. Tweet, this is Princess Flora, sister to Fauna. Princess, as you know by now, this is Tweet.”

Flora nodded shyly and smiled. 

Fauna sighed.

“You never say anything! Why, last week I almost went crazy trying to find out if you wanted to order spaghetti or a salad!”

Me, Jay, and Flora laughed at this. As we rode towards the castle, we chatted about the forest, weather, and things in general. When the subject of sleep came up, Fauna refused outright to let us go stay at an inn for the night.

“The Queen and Luna would kill me if I let you guys do that! You have to come stay with us! Our sisters would love to see you again, and I haven’t had a decent slumber party in ages!”

Jay laughed and surrendered.

“OK, you win! We shall unwillingly go into your beautiful air conditioned palace, but we shall go as if lead was attached to our feet!”

I agreed, and did an impersonation of walking slow-mo. So, in this way, did we find ourselves heading towards a royal palace to meet the Queen, our original destination, and the two older sisters of the kingdom. 

SKETCHPAGES; Installment #7!

When I woke again, Jay was putting her quiver on her back again. She took the ring that held all my baggage off her finger and held it out to me. I took it and placed it on my finger. It adjusted itself until it fit my finger perfectly.

"That ring will not come off unless you take it off of your free will. To get your luggage back, tap the gemstone thrice."

I nodded and stood. Jay took a map out of her pocket and examined it. She looked up at the horizon then back at the map. She nodded and put the map back. I stretched, my mouth stretched wide in a huge yawn. I tapped my ring for my luggage and rummaged through my new belongings to see if there was some sort of hair brush in there somewhere. I found a hair brush with a handle of ivory, bristles of peacock feathers, and studded with gems. I stared at it in amazement for a moment. Finally I shrugged, and was like 'what the heck' and started to brush my hair. I finished and went into some bushes to change in one of my BlueJay lookalike outfits. I snagged a matching sparkly headband and some better sneakers. I replaced my boring studs with some dangly feathers. Grabbed a magic bracelet or two, and the locket that I could hide Frost in. I was feeling more like myself. Jay helped me find a small bag that I could tuck the little chick into comfortably. Speaking of which, it looked kind of hungry. Me and Jay tried many different kinds of food, but we only found one thing he liked to eat; metal and minerals. We had to pry it off some pieces of valuable jewelry, but my old earrings were devoured by him. We dug around in my trunk and found some old jewels. We fed him what we could and tucked the rest into one of Jays pockets. As we cleaned the various things we had scattered, a weird thought occurred to me.

"Jay, where did your sister GET all this stuff?"

Jay's face darkened slightly, but she replied

"Most of it came from my fathers estate, but some of it.... Well, my sister is, as you know, not completely in her right mind. Some of the items she has acquired she has taken from travelers in the woods."

I didn't reply to that. We packed in silence, until we had all the necessary supplies we needed to continue on our journey to whoever would help me get back home. As we reentered the forest, I started to think about my home. Man, I missed everyone back there. Like, sure, his place was really cool, and I had gotten tons of free magical cool stuff. So, yeah, I was like,

'SCORE!!!'

But I still missed everybody and everything at home. Mittens, my cat, my parents, my friends, heck, I even missed Josie, my little sister. As well as Grandma. As I thought about everyone, like reading my thoughts, Jay asked,

"Tweet, where did you come from? How did you get here? How did I come to find you? Or, really, you found me,"

She said, smiling slightly. At first I was hesitant, but soon I was pouring the whole story out to her. I forgot about the journey and how hard it was to go through this crazy dense forest and talked.

"Well, first I kind of need to give you a little bit of an introduction, since all you really know about me is my name. Plus, I owe you from last night."

She nodded, and I went on. My name is Emiline, I'm 12, I love to draw and write, have lots of friends at school, that kind of thing. I told her about my artistic mom and funny dad, my crazy little sister, my loving cat, and about my... Well, awesome, amazing, fantabulous, eccentric grandmother. She is too cool. She uses a cane, and has this actual eye patch over one of her eyes, but other than that, she's really nice and funny. One of her hands always has a Michael Jackson glove on it, never without it. She normally keeps her silver hair in a bun, and has the coolest dresses and nicest laugh. She has these wrinkles around her eyes from all the time she spends smiling. She has his aura of, well, control, I guess.. But it's really more of an organized feeling. Her house is always clean, her bills always paid perfectly and on time, cookies always out of the oven at the right moment. I know I was kind of putting a lot of emphasis on her, but I love her a lot (she actually remembers what its like to be in sixth grade.) and she kind of is the reason I ended out where I did. So, anyways, I visit her a lot, but I was kind of surprised yesterday afternoon when I biked to her house (yeah, over a river and through the woods, to grandmothers house we go, I'm not kidding) and found no one home, but the house unlocked and, weirdly enough, cookies burning. Not that big for you, but this was a biggie for Grandma. I grabbed them out of the oven then went all over, doing a Grandma search. Didn't find a sign of her. It was weird. One thing odd I did notice, was that this door that I had never even noticed before, was open. Well, yeah, of course I knew it w I just never had kind of seen it. It was in her room, so I had always assumed it was a closet and ignored it. But it was open, and there were a many beautiful coats in it. Dresses, too. And the materials they were made of was even more amazing. Peacock feathers, leopard skin, one that even had the exact same texture of an Aura, though I didn't know it yet. I was astounded. I wondered where Grandma had gotten these dresses. Not at Target, thats for sure. Also, I was kind of wondering where on earth grandma used these dresses, since I had sure as heck never seen any of them. I stood there, staring at these mysterious clothes. And as I did, a childish feeling of mischief came over me. I had seen the movie The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe before, and guess where going through a closet of coats got that little girl? She became a princess, right? So, the crazy person I was, I decided to do something that I would rather regret. I pushed my way past the coats to the back of the closet. Funny enough, it worked. I stumbled into a snowy landscape. I was shocked. And scared. And confused. And lots of other feelings too, I'm sure. I had no idea if Grandma was here, how this had even happened, and whether I was going crazy or if this was actually real even though it shouldn't be. I turned around, ready to leave and forget about this forever. But, lo and behold, nothing was in the space my exit should be. My heart sank. I turned back around to face whatever was here. I almost peed myself when I saw what was in front of me. Emperor penguins, each the size of a grownup, waddled around. They had bow ties, canes, diamond flipper watches, tuxedos, monocles, and top hats on. The females (well, I guess they were females) had on slinky evening gowns. It was funny, but kind of weird. I started walking through the crowd. I don't really know what I expected to find. A map, like at the mall?

YOU ARE HERE. To get back to Grandma's house, go to northeast aisle, etc. I don't know. I just started walking through. I tried not to bump into any of them, really I didn't, but I did bump into this one guy. He looked down at me and narrowed his beady eyes. 

"Hey, watch it!"

He snapped. Literally. His beak clicked on every syllable. I muttered an apology and shuffled my way around. When I had walked for a considerable amount of time, I was out of the penguins. I sighed with relief. I had no idea where I was going, but I had at least made it this far. I turned around and continued walking.

"Hey, wait!"

I stiffened, but turned around to see what it was. A female and male penguin slid up to me on their bellies, then stood upright in front of me. They were my height. They weren't dressed as smartly, more like two teenagers going to a dance. The girl asked me in a silvery voice

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Where are you going?"

The guys shuffled his feet a little and explained that his girlfriend had thought I looked lost and out of place and had wanted to help. I shrugged and introduced myself to them. I explained my predicament of not being able to get back, not knowing where to go and knowing no one that could help. I asked them if there was anyone they knew that might be able to help. They had looked lost for a moment, then brightened (if a penguin can brighten). They explained that they knew the perfect place that would have someone that could get 'my wing out of the fishing net'. They pointed towards a forest at the very edge of my vision. They explained that if I kept going I would eventually get to the kingdom of this land. I thought it was odd that there was a kingdom, like how old is that? But y'know, I had seen some pretty weird stuff today, so I let it go. I thanked them and gave them both hugs. They were very nice about it, and the girl gave me a magic diamond for good luck on a necklace. I put it on, and she assured me I looked 'prettier than the aurora at midnight' I said goodbye and headed toward my destination. I kept turning around and waving, and they were always there, waving right back at me. At around this point in my storytelling, I showed Jay my necklace, and she asked the names of the penguins that had helped me out. I told her that they had called each other Violet and Tommy. She nodded and smiled.

"The penguins you met were the snootiest flock of Dressy Penguins there are. They hate people but normally just ignore us. Violet and Tommy, the two you met, are exceptions. They don't dress up like peacocks, and are kind and helpful to any humans in need. Good friends of mine."

She nodded, looking satisfied. 

"They are well known for their generosity and good advice."

I continued with my story. After I couldn't see them anymore, I had started jogging across the stretch of increasingly grassy land before me. The sun was barely up in the sky here, while it was around 4:00 in the afternoon back home. However, I felt awake, like I do in the morning. Like my body had adapted to this new world or whatever it was. Along the way, I saw many odd things. Tribes of cats racing over hills, 12 headed snakes sliding through the sand, dragons flying over head, trees with faces forming in their leaves, rocks with water flowing out of them, and much more. I kept up a steady pace until about noon, when I plopped myself down at some sort of beautiful oasis. I met a pride of lions that were also relaxing in the shade. When I noticed them, I tensed, ready to run. However, even though a lot of them looked over at me curiously as I rested, none of them showed much interest in me. After a while, a dozen or so cubs bounced, rolled, and ran to me. They played around and near me, and since I didn't bother them, soon they were crawling over my legs, playing king of the mountain on my head, and sleeping on my stomach. I couldn't help but smile as the clumsy cubs, one by one, fell asleep on me in various wildly complex positions. When one of them started snoring, I had to try really hard not to laugh. I fell asleep, too. They were the perfect warm blanket. We slept for about a half and hour. When I woke up, a lioness was silently moving the sleepy cubs back over to where the lions were resting. She looked at me and blinked, long and slow. I blinked back. She nodded and continued. When all the cubs were gone, she came and sat next to me. She nudged my hand with her muzzle a couple of times, and when I opened my palm, she dropped a lion fang with a hole in it into my hand. Carved in it was a rough picture of a lion cub. I found an old piece of yarn in my pocketbook (which I still had on) and slung the tooth round my neck. She nodded again and walked silently away. I stood up slowly and stretched quietly, not wanting to leave, but I did, after waving and whispering a quiet farewell. Here, too, I showed the necklace I had acquired to Jay. She looked surprised. 

"This kind of necklace is very rare. The pride you saw was most likely the Loyal Pride, the most noble. I can tell for no other tribe has this jagged edge on their teeth. This necklace is a symbol of friend to mother lions and cubs. A very rare honor. It will also help you if you meet a male lion, for they are always wishing to gain favor from the females and helping a Friend is a very good way to do so."

I continued again with my story. I had started jogging again, feeling refreshed. Soon, I reached the edge of the forest. It looked really creepy, but I had walked in anyways. Inside, even more wonders and terrors met my curious eyes. I was starting to get hungry, but I pressed on. When I was deep in the forest and my stomach was growling of hunger, I came across an odd sight. Yards and yards of the ground were covered with pure white mushrooms. I bent down and poked one. I'm not kidding, it felt exactly like a marshmallow. I picked one up and poked a hole in it. Looked like marshmallow. Now, what I did next was pretty stupid and probably could have ended out really badly, but it didn't. I took a bite of of the strange mushroom. Tasted like marshmallow. I waited a couple of minutes, and when I didn't die from poison, I finished the mushroom off. Yum. I feasted on marshmallow for my afternoon snack. When I had picked a good area clean, I went on my way in what was probably the right direction. After an hour or so more of hiking, I found a small clearing full of flowers. Really beautiful flowers. I walked to the center and breathed in the sweet scent. My eyes started to close. I was tired, and it smelled so nice and- but then I saw something that really should never happen and of you ever see this, run away. The flowers were moving. And growing. And snarling. My eyes snapped open. The Tiger Lily's petals formed a tigers teeth. The dandelion was drooling. The foxglove was barking. And lots of other stuff that really shouldn't happen was happening. They stretched their stems so they could grow their way to me. The rose, always one of my favorite flowers, had its thorns pointed towards me like daggers. Vines started worming their way up my legs. I felt them slowly tighten. Then, in my comatose-like state, I thought 

'I don't want to be killed by a bunch of flowers! I don't want to die, period!!!!'

I unfroze and ran. Ran. Ran. Didn't stop. Didn't breathe. Didn't think. Ran, ran, ran. For ages. Or minutes. Anyways, the point is, I ran away as fast as I could. Until I couldn't. So I stumbled along. Until I heard a voice yell

"Hey! Are you okay?"

And tripped on a root. And found myself at the feet of BlueJay.

SKETCHPAGES; Installment #6!

We sat in silence for a while, then when it got too dark too see anything we went to sleep. I know, I know, sleep in a weird opposite dimension or whatever inside a haunted forest with someone I had known for a couple of hours. But, weirdly enough, I didn’t feel paranoid at all. I had only met Jay, yet I felt very secure with her near me. I just felt like she’s the kind of person that knows how to deal with an emergency. So I fell asleep easily. I mean, I was totally bushed. I had had a pretty crazy day, even for me. So I probably would have slept like a log, except for one fact. I had a nightmare. And even by my standards, it was a WHOPPER. 

I dreamt I was in a beautiful dress. In some sort of amazing palace. With many distinguished people sitting around a table. BlueJay was there too, looking younger and more happy. I was seated at the table as well. Oh, and another thing; I wasn’t even me. I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror on a wall. I wasn’t myself, but I knew one thing; I knew the face I saw in the mirror. Just not the name. All the people were laughing and talking while they waited for the food to be served. A handsome-looking gentle man to my right kept chatting with me, and when he wasn’t, he was trying to catch my eye and smiling. I blushed whenever he did this. After some time, food arrived on china dishes and silver cutlery. It was unlike any food I’ve ever ‘eaten’ before. I used manners I had never learned and talked about things that I knew nothing about easily. When the dishes were scraped clean everyone walked out into a beautiful garden, laughing in the sunlight. Suddenly, my perspective switched. I was hidden in the bushes, shifting uneasily. I watched the company walk outside. My... tail waved back and forth. A signal. I leapt out of the bushes, aiming directly for the teenaged girl I had been earlier. Her lush auburn hair shone in the sunlight. Me and my accomplices, two night-black panthers were on either side of me, daggers in their mouths and eyes flashing. I landed on all four of my... paws. I was in the center of the group, close to the girl. With a flick of my tail the panthers headed towards the girl and chased away all who were near my target. I, myself, circled around, viewing the company and growling. In doing so, I got a look at myself. I was the same texture as Frost, see-through and sparkly, but more orange than blue. I was a tiger. The girl caught sight of me snarling. Her face turned white and she looked confused.

“Saji! Why are you doing this? Who are these cats?”

I ignored her and continued my pacing. When the guests were at a considerable distance, I padded over to her. The panthers were still circling us, making sure no one dared to come close. One man had run for the guards. BlueJay was yelling for calm and her arrows. But it was too late. A smirk curled at my mouth. I reached her and sat on my haunches to look her in the eye. 

“Hello, partner. How are the party guests? I do hope the food was to your pleasure. And the sunlight catches your hair so well. I do just love your new outfit! What a shame you will never see how well it goes with my new collar.”

I sneered at her scathingly.

“Saji, what is this? You are frightening the guests!”

I laughed. 

“Oh, you know they can’t understand a word I’m saying. And meet my new friends. Yew and Nightshade.”

I nodded to the panthers.

“By the way, they make their living as assassins. Which is why they’re here. To get rid of you.”

If the girl had been white before, that was nothing compared to how ‘transparent’ she looked now.

“B-but... what... k-kill? How...”

I snickered at her confusion and terror. How foolish she was! 

Raising my voice, I began to speak.

“To all who hear this, pass it on. This world you live in now is not going to be the same ever again. The waters which you sail are becoming choppy and rough. The queen shall fall and Those Who Walk In The Shadows shall rule! All this shall begin with the death of this pretty little lady right now. To all who hear this, this blood, this end, shall mark a new beginning!”

The girl gasped and looked pleased.

“Saji! You spoke English! This is an Aura breakthrough! This is wonderful!”

She bent down to hug me. I snarled and dodged her. She looked hurt. I continued. 

“I did not learn to speak as a trick for you to show your friends and snotty dukes and duchesses. I learned so I can make you pathetic beings understand me, one and all.”

One of the panthers tossed me a dagger. I caught it in my mouth easily. I moved it so the specially fitted handle was in my mouth at the right position. I had been a couple of feet away. However, I turned and walked towards the crowd. I sarcastically bowed to anyone I recognized.

Duke of something, lady of some hall, duchess of some place, sir knight of some glory, fancy-pants architect, blah blah blah. Finally I started walking back. Ten feet away, I crouched in preparation to leap. The girl hadn’t moved. She was frozen. The panthers had done their charms well. She looked terrified. As I tensed to leap, I heard someone yell in slow motion. I leaped as though trapped in jello. Time slowed down for me. This moment was here at last. However, something other than my target entered my vision. The man who loved her. He leaped in front of her, blocking her and causing me to catch him instead. I snarled in annoyance as I hit him with my full momentum, then picked up my dagger again from his chest and turned to my victim. But the damage was done. The panthers had become occupied with this fool risking his life. The frozen charm had broken. The girl was running away, her tears watering the grass. I was ready to go chase down my prey, but I could hear the shouts of those blasted guards. I growled in anger and jumped into the air and twisted into nothingness.

I woke up breathing hard with tears forming in my eyes. I was in my body again. And I was sure of two things. 1, that dream was something that actually happened. 2, the girl with the auburn hair was Tigress. 

DEDICATED TO MY FOLKS

Hi Mom, hi Dad, this is a special blog post/poem/thingy just for you! <3 ;) <3
Here goes- oops, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!
Here goes (again)-
My Dad is the gravity that holds me steady
My Mom is the warm love of the fire
My Dad is the echo that comes back to make me laugh
My Mom is the little oddities in Nature
My Dad is the mysterious dark sky, full of stars and so much to explore
My Mom is the sun, lighting my path
My Dad is my Instruction book (in only one language, thank goodness)
My Mom is the purring cat that lets her kittens romp around cheerfully
My Dad is the watchful tom, teaching me skills to use later in life
My Mom is the creativity that inspires me
My Dad is the compliments and criticism that keep me going
My Mom is the comfy chair by the fire
My Dad is the sturdy, unbreakable couch
My Mom is the rainbow dew shining on every leaf and blade of grass
My Dad is the quiet, thoughtful mist in the morning
My Mom is the sunset, glorying in beauty
My Dad is the sunrise, starting everything up again
Love you guys and all you do!
-Your Favorite Daughter

VALENTINE'S DAY!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY
To you and your (possible) super special someone!
If you're single, well, HAPPY V-DAY
ANYWAYS.
THE STORY OF ST. VALENTINE'S DAY;
Once upon a time,
(I know, I'm going classic, right?)
There was a very kind man named St Valentine. Everybody loved him, but one day he got sent to prison. (Who knew such a good guy could go there?) But all the children sent him loving cards and food on his birthday, February 14. This was such a popular idea for giving love to one another, people all over adopted the idea, and to this day the tradition still stands of giving our loved ones cards and treats. ;) At least, that's what I heard. Even if it's not the original version, it's still cute right?
Ps. I'm pretty sure St Valentine got out of prison soon.
Anyways, this is my card to all you guys reading my blog! Love ya!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
HAPPY ST VALENTINE DAY
HAPPY V-DAY
<3

SKETCHPAGES; Installment #5

Inside, the box was inlaid with velvet pillows. Nestled inside was a metal jewel-encrusted egg. As we stared with wide eyes, it began to slowly rock side to side. The rocking speed increased until the box tipped over, sending the egg onto the floor. Me and Tigress screeched, and Jay made an attempt to grab it, but it hit the floor, BoUnCeD, and settled into a small nook in the floor. A large crack opened in it, and out popped... A metal chick! It didn't have any color, just silvery gold... Fuzz? It had gems for eyes, and those roundish cog gear things for wings. It had robot looking legs, but it was so cute. I bent down and scooped it up and started cuddling it. It was too cute! Tigress gleefully picked up the shell and eagerly asked if I wanted it. I told her I didn't, and begged to keep the chick. She happily agreed, and then climbed up to go hide the egg shell somewhere in her stash of treasures. She told me I could keep the box and the key, and in return, I would send her monthly samples. Jay assured me that samples meant poop and feathers. Whatever! Now the little guy (or girl) was soooo cute I almost couldn't get over it. It peeped, clicked,  beeped, and.. Pooped. Tigress almost fainted from excitement. I promised her I would send her a box full of poop whenever she wanted, and she was already talking about all the new potions she would be able to make. Once, she pet the chick in the wrong place or something, and it bit her with its metal beak so hard it drew blood. She was so happy and went off to test her blood for metal birdy blood poisoning or something. While she was gone, Jay scribbled something on a scroll of paper and grabbed me and my new stuff.

"Come on, let's GO!"

I was very reluctant, but eventually she pushed me down the hole and into the forest again. Before I could get my bearings, she grabbed me and started to run, dragging me along with her. I was confused about her sudden rush. Finally we emerged into a beautiful clearing. Jay gave a great sigh and walked over to the largest tree, and started to set up a PICNIC. I walked over once I had caught my breath. I asked her where she was going to get food. I was starving. She pointed up at the tree. She climbed up onto one of the lower branches and grabbed something out of a hollow in the trees trunk. She climbed back down, and to my amazement, in her arms she held Root Beer, grilled cheese, cookies, and many other goodies. I was amazed and sat down immediately on the thin blanket on the ground.

“How..where..what..wh-”

“The Giving Tree.”

“I thought that was a book by Shel Silverstein.”

“In your world? Of course. Those who can cross borders make much profits by telling stories of what they have seen on this side.”

She handed me a soda, and I drank gratefully. We ate and talked and laughed. After a while I remembered Tigress and asked why she had hurried so to leave. She answered that it was best to leave now before anything bad happened to me of my pets. Speaking of which, Frost had run with us and was now rolling around in the grass. The little bird was toddling around the blanket, falling down every so often. Me and Jay discussed names, and whether it was a boy or girl. When we tired of that, we merely sat and rested. Finally I brought up the subject of Tigress again. BlueJay narrowed her eyes at me, but then sighed and relaxed again.

'My sister Tigress is..... Complicated. When young, she had a Tiger Aura. Saji. Known as Leana, she was wise, compassionate, and beautiful. The tiger was the same. But one day Saji felt neglected. She left, but only after almost killing her. Saji went and joined the group of evil witches and wizards that afterwards made this forest. She still lives, however. I know not where, and those that have found her are shaken to their very core. I advise you to be wary around tigers of any kind. But Leana was almost murdered by her own evil Aura and then almost died of shock of the betrayal. Remember, Auras are attached to their soul partners, but they still have a mind, opinion and personality. Always listen to your Auras advice. Frost snorted from his seat beside me.

‘Well that goes without saying.’

I smiled weakly, then asked

'But that still doesn't explain about Tigress's.... Handicap.'

BlueJay sighed and the color in hair seemed to fade a little bit.

“Well, whatever Saji thought or felt, Leana still had loved Saji deeply. Leana was and still is, wise, clever, and very logical. But the question of 'Why did she betray me?' bamboozled her. The heartbreak, shock, and confusion broke her inside. Unable to form a logical conclusion, her exhausted heart and mind came upon a crazy answer. She had been a horrible person. She turned wild, forsook her old self for being too evil for Saji too bear, and changed her name to Tigress. She refused to hear a bad word against Saji and came to live here. She still refuses to accept the idea of Saji betraying her. In her eyes, Saji, overcome with grief for her evil master, attempted to kill the demon in her mistress's heart. Failing and shocked at what she had done, she fled to a group of wizards and witches in shame. Tigress is firm in this haphazard view, but that does not make her any more sane.”

We were quiet for a very long time.

I considered this new view of things.

“But what about-”

“Wisdom is still inside her though, but misused and wasted on any myth that catches her fancy.”

BlueJay sounded bitter.

“Me and my sisters were once daughters of a very rich and kind duke. We had anything we wished, and we were all well known for our beauty and talents. But upon Tigress's Snap, our mother became distraught and died soon afterward of sadness. Our family became cursed of bad luck and almost no one came to call. Tigress had unknowingly disgraced our family. Father became withdrawn after this for a while, but shook himself out of it when he noticed how quiet our house had become, and restarted the never ending schedule of parties, dinners and openings. But one day me and my remaining sister went to him and asked for his blessing to leave this household and wander out into the world to seek our destinies. He consented and gave us much money and supplies. We traveled together for a while, until we discovered a treasure of treasures. We parted ways and I rarely see her anymore. When I am in passing, I visit Father. The last I checked he was doing fine. But the house feels much too large and our wealth has become smaller every coming year. Less business, less visits, and bad luck has fallen upon him. Wagons are robbed, boats sink. Ever since my sister has left, things have never been the same.”

She fell into a brooding silence for a while and did not speak. As I gazed at her, I wondered what the treasure she and her sister had found was. When I finally found the courage to ask her, I was amazed at the treasure but even more surprised at the nonchalance of which she spoke.

“Fountain of Youth.”

I gaped at her.

“Me and my sis gave some of the water to Father and Tigress.”

As the rays of sunset touched her brooding face, I wondered exactly how old she was. Suddenly I remembered a fourth grade unit we had done on art. The expression of her face matched that of The Thinker statue. The regal beauty of her head matched the bust of Nefertiti. The curves of her body matched that of Greek statues of goddesses. Her eyes and former smile held the mystery of the Mona Lisa. I recalled her speaking of people that could cross from 'world to world' and how she had 'many names' How different had she looked like a couple hundred years ago? Different enough to have a different name and then reappear in history years later as another unknown painting or sculpture, hidden within her own identity? As these thoughts raced through my head, she spoke.

“Everything is not what it seems here or in your world, Tweet. Mysteries in your world are easily unraveled here. And vice versa as well.”

She winked at me, then sighed and continued to study the distance like there was a movie playing there that only she could see.

The Girl's Bathroom

The lights are out in the girl's bathroom at school.
It's dark and quite warm when you go in.
The lights have been out for a couple of weeks now,
But no lightbulb-fixer has come in.
The warm darkness presses on your eyes
Then leaves as you notice the light leaking in
From the cold, cold doorway
Where classrooms lie down the hall.
If you were to go in a dark, warm bathroom like this
And stick your hands up as far as they go
The air is quite dense (though pleasantly so)
And warm as a decent fire.
Whenever I go in this light-depraved darkness
I love the silent darkness and warmth
And though it may seem quite odd to you,
I sincerely hope they never fix the lights
For the darkness feels like a relaxing break
From the kids in the classroom I've come from
That were making an awful din.

SKETCHPAGES; Installment #4!

He listened closely, asking a couple questions here and there. Finally I turned to Tigress and Jay and asked what the heck an Aura even was. Tigress tried to explain, but then Jay jumped and started trying too, and the each of them kept trying to out talk the other. It made my head hurt, and Frostbite whimpered and tried to cover his ears. This went on until Frostbite growled and snapped his jaws. Everything froze. I looked around. Birds had stopped flying in midair. Leaves had stopped flying. Most importantly, Tigress and Jay had stopped talking. Frostbite sighed and took his paws off his ears. He looked around curiously, then shook himself as if he was wet. Everything started up again. Tigress and Jay started talking again, then realized me and Frostbite were in totally different positions. They both stopped, and I took advantage of the situation and started talking. I explained about the time stop. I asked how he could do it. And again, I asked what an Aura was. (I know, I know, even Frostbite gave me a look that said 'Do you never learn?') Jay and Tigress paused, and thought for a moment. Finally Jay spoke, and each sylabyle was carefully weighed and measured.

'An Aura is a soulmate in the form of an animal that most suits you. By soulmate, I mean it literally shares your soul. It was made by your idea of perfect. As for the time stopping..... Well, the Aura's each have a special power. Some can travel in time, tell the future, even change shape. But time stoppers.... Very rare. Very, very rare. An Aura's job is to protect you and help you. But you must take very careful care of your Aura, because it is a part of you. If you let it die, well....'

She shot a quick glance at Tigress and went on

'...A piece of you dies. And you'll never... Quite... Be the same again.'

Tigress had stiffened and he face was made of stone. (Not literally.) Jay rushed on

"And of course, the same goes vice versa for your Aura. It must make sure never to hesitate in its duties to protect you faithfully, or else it will be a Fajin."

"Waitwaitwait, whaaat?"

"A Fajin. A Fajin is an Aura that lost its partner, and wanders the world, either seeking vengeance or just existing... That is, until it fades completely. As it lives without its partner, the Fajin slowly fade, until they become invisible spirits that wander the world doomed for the rest of eternity to be separated from their partner. It is their punishment for not doing their duty."

"Isn't that, well... A little harsh??"

"They let their responsibilities go without a fight, causing a death. Only very special people are hooked to Auras. Hence, when the Aura neglects their duties, it is a loss to our world."

"Is it normal for... A normal person like me to have one?"

Jay looked at me with surprise, as did Tigress. Then as one, they started to laugh. Still laughing, Jay fell off the stool she was sitting on and lay there, gasping for breath. Still chuckling, she sat up and climbed back onto her seat. Tigress hadn't moved, but she was still giggling. Jay told me that I might be normal where I came from, but here, I stuck out like 'a moth in a crowd of butterflies' as she put it. Tigress looked me over critically again, and proclaimed

"We must change of yourrr clothes."

I looked down, and I had to agree. Even if I had been someone who belonged here, my clothes still set me apart from everyone else easily. Jay agreed, and the two clambered up the main trunk to find me a suitable outfit. Through all this, Frostbite had been hanging out on Tigress's couch. Yawning, he drifted off to sleep. I could sense his dreams, like one of chasing a butterfly. I waited, and as I did, I noticed that the box that had held Frostbite was still closed. However, it had opened to let Frostbite out. Confused, I picked up the box and examined it. As I turned the box every which way, a hidden compartment slid open. I slid my fingers around the inside of the compartment, and as I examined them, I saw the telltale blue sparkles. This compartment must have been what held my new dog. So what was in the box? Just as I put the box back, Jay slid down the trunk looking very pleased.

"I had forgotten what a very large closet my sister has. Look what we found!"

Tigress came down carrying a large trunk as wide as my arm span. Tigress also looked very pleased, and quite smug.

"Yes, many trrreasurrres I have found and kept in case of such a special perrrson as ourrr sweet Tweet."

Setting it down carefully, Tigress proceeded to open the trunk and show me it's contents. Inside, there were about three outfits identical to Jay's, but in multiple colors and patterns, and it turned it they would never get dirty and they would always fit me perfectly. I was skeptical, until Jay announced that she had had hers since she was three, and had her signature on the corner of her shorts to prove it. They gave me a beautiful small blue dagger to hang around my neck, and a gorgeous emerald pin shaped like a four leaf clover. Tigress instructed me closely to place the pin directly over my heart. It would give me good luck, but Tigress put much emphasis upon it protecting my life from arrows or other weapons. Along with this, I was given an awesome messenger sling bag the exact color of Frostbite, which pleased him immensely. Along with that, I got a dress the shade of ruby red. And quite a few more trinkets, like a music box that almost put everyone to sleep, a locket where Frostbite could hide with ease (he could change size), some huge jeweled dragon teeth, some gold coins, and a rainbow ring that could hypnotize people. I was incredibly reluctant about accepting all these gifts, and when Tigress left the floor, I immediately started protesting to Jay. She shushed me, and hen explained that Tigress was rarely this generous to travelers or strangers, and if I refused her offer of kindness, she would be much insulted. I agreed, on the condition that we ask her where she got the closed box I had examined.  Now Jay was reluctant, and she warned me that Tigress was very reluctant to let go of her secrets. So when Tigress came back, I had the mysterious box ready in hand. I asked her what the box was. She hesitated, and many emotions crossed her face before she answered me.

"That verrry box be given to me by the birrrds that live in this forrrest. I had demanded to know the wherrreabouts of the Mechtech Birrrd. Jay, I see yourrr confusion. This birrrd be betterrr known as the Click Birrrd. The Click Birrrd be a birrrd made completely out of Starrr Metal. It was once just an expensive toy, but one day it was wound up and it flew into this forrrest. I have been searrrching forrr it forrr yearrrs to study it, but it allows only travelerrrs to see it only to wind it up, using a verrry special key that was not orrriginally made forrr this birrrd. The king of the birrrds, he did not like my questions. The birrrds are verrry protective of the Click Birrrd and wherrre he makes his nest. So, to send me away, they gave me this prrretty box. They told me only a trrrue frrriend of the birrrds would possess the key to open this trrreasurrre. The key, whateverrr it may be, is unlike any key I have everrr hearrrd tell of. It be the shape of a featherrr, yet no featherrr I have placed in it be the rrright one."

She pointed to an indent in the side of the box, shaped like a feather.

Suddenly I remembered the mechanical bird and the feather in my pocket. I took it out and held it in my palm. It was heavy, but balanced. Tigress saw it and gasped. She reached for it, but I snatched my hand away. She looked so disappointed, I let her hold it. She held it delicately, examining it. She gave it back reluctantly, and said that it must the feather of one of the Click Birds children, since if my story was true, the real Click Bird was much larger than the finch sized bird I had met. However, when I held the feather up to the key indent, it looked identical. I bit my lip, and offered the feather to Tigress. I figured it was her key. She deserved it. But she shook her head, and refused outright. She wouldn't touch it. She told me to put the key in myself. So, I gently placed the feather inside of the indent. It clicked into place, and the box lid swung open. 

SKETCHPAGES Character pictures

Our good friend Emiline, 12 year old artist and explorer

Tigress, the kooky forest dweller and sister to the elusive BlueJay

There are many more to come and I shall make a new post later on with our heroes composed in color!

SKETCHPAGES; Installment #3!

Jay translated;

‘Do you promise to take care of the Aura’s every need?’

I decided it would be rash to refuse, so I replied,

‘Yes?’

Jay scolded me. 

‘You must be utterly certain, or the Aura won’t appear. Now, say it and MEAN IT!’

‘Yes!’

‘Ala shon de la fon trat e prola la play?’

‘Do you promise to trust and protect the Aura?’

‘Yes.’

‘Ala ickla shur du pilin cu lal?’

‘Do you believe yourself to be of a good heart and noble spirit?’

‘I try to be my best.’

Jay looked displeased with my answer, but Tigress continued with her incantations smoothly.

‘Hoo quarta bilo vical mina garta gur jakka vinex binswat piolick to it shurtikali al es Tweet.’

She took a breath before continuing.

‘Shurtikal fur du es la play?’

‘Do you have a name for the Aura?’

I hesitated. I had always wanted a pet, and if that’s what this aura thing was, then I needed a good name. I had always wanted a husky. So, I would name this thing, whatever it was, like I would a husky. 

‘Frostbite.’

Tigress turned to the box and began to speak to it softly. I didn’t hear what she said, though I could hear the occasional

‘Emiline’, ‘Frostbite’, and ‘Shurtikal’

I looked over at Jay and mouthed ‘Shurtikal?’

She mouthed back

‘It means ‘Soul Protector’. The true name of an Aura.’

She was going to mouth something else but then Tigress turned to me again.

She walked over to me and made me kneel before the box. I felt pretty dumb. She sprinkled some water or something on me, and said

‘Yourrr soul animals arrrre thrrree. Between them thrrree, thy must choose one. Between the fox, with bushy tail and cunning eyes,

the husky wolf, with a howl of ice and teeth of bone,

and of chickadee, cap of shadow and prrrrick sharrrrp mind,

which of thy thrrree does thy wish thy Aurrra to be?’

Well, that’s the easiest question of all, I thought to myself. What luck! I always knew a husky would be perfect for me. Aloud, I said;

‘Of those three I wish for the husky wolf/mine to be.’

Why not add a twist of rhyme to it? Tigress seemed pleased by my rough rhyming. She went on though, her voice flowing smoothly through the words.

‘Then of thy soul, the shape must twist into life inside the spirrrit imprrrisoned here./This spirrrit I have kept safe forrr long, it is verrry dear. So out of thy mouth, say these worrrds thrrree;

Anaklos! Shritikur! Kriticali!’

I repeated dutifully, still partly unsure what I was doing. Then, the box upon the table began to vibrate slightly. Then it began to shake. And tremble. At this point, Tigress took a short stick out of a hidden pocket and rapped the box three times with it. Then, the small golden lock on the box burst open, and with much glitter and sparkling dust, (Too much if you ask me, though my best friend would probably tell me enough glitter is never enough,) something came out of that box of the likes I had never seen before. First, some sort of vague four legged animal shape formed of a sky-blue fog jumped out of the open box. Then, as I watched, the THING slowly began to become a defined form. Lumps of fog became soft fur, misshapen gemstones became sparkling eyes, whitish specks became white teeth, odd areas that poked out became rounded paws, pointed ears, and tufted tail, and then, before I knew it, the misshapen blob before me had become a blue-gray, sparkling (Not too much, thank heavens,)  perfect, beautiful, cute, sweet, husky. He looked perfect, cute and sweet and lovable, but ever curved edge that outlined and defined his body radiated power and a magnificence that only wolves have. He started to move around slowly, then faster and faster as he got used to his body. He didn’t walk, not exactly, since his paws never touched the ground. He kind of trot-floated. He looked at me and barked, and I knew he barked, but I understood what he said, which sent a thrill of excitement course through me. He said;

‘Whatcha lookin at? I’m just a dog.’

He twitched his ear and tilted his head in such a way that made him look very cocky. I giggled, which seemed to please him. He began to sniff around the ‘house’ and as he did, I slowly realized I could feel his emotions. In the back of my mind somewhere, I could tell that those emotions I felt were his from watching him. When he slipped, I felt surprise. When he found some old bones, I felt excitement. When a bird chirped loudly, I felt confusion. This was creepy and cool at the same time. But when he looked up at me, and said;

‘You feel different from the rest of the people here. Why is that?’

In words and pictures, I managed to explain how he had gotten here and who I was and who Tigress and Jay (who had been silent and still this whole time) were. 

SKETCHPAGES; Installment #2!

Jay cried out in anger. Then she said something that I still do not know the meaning of. It sounded like

‘Akla! Hastlaw e joka bok al a pastru akan ceka mana kal kal i oon! Ama la es Tweet, e coom rom paraplan. Es englon.’

A voice both low and high sounded in my ear with breath smelling of pine. 

‘Kanshal ital otad funoc?

‘Don. Don, Akla. Don.’

‘How do you know she is not a traitorrrr?’

The mysterious person had a smooth voice with rough edges, purred out her r’s. Jay answered 

‘She has the Mark. You did not see it? You are losing your edge, my sister.’

‘If I am losing my edge, then at least I keep my knife honed sharrrrp.’

She (for it was a she) took the knife off my throat and twisted me and around so she was now facing me. As she examined my face for ‘The Mark’ I got a look at someone who looked even stranger than Jay.

Dressed in a t-shirt and skirt with ragged edges, being in the forest for so long must have rid the clothes of their original color and replaced it with an almost un-noticable brown-gray. Just about every inch of her skin was tattooed. From her ankles, shins, arms, and face, it seemed she almost had no natural skin color. She also wore a dagger, like her sister, in a sheath slung around her waist. Her hair may have been her most impressive feature, if you dismiss her tattoos as being not natural. Shaggy and thick, her orange with black-striped hair touched the ground. It gave her a kind of blanket and a soft landing pad, judging from what I had heard when she dropped from the treetops. She examined me carefully, even a bit warily, At one point she held my chin in her hand and forced me to look at her eyes, at which point I got an excellent view of her irises. The second I looked in her eyes, I wished I could look away. But she was challenging me, waiting to see whether I would look away, kind of like wolves do when they’re challenging each other. Her gaze was intense. Her eyes.... Her left iris was a dark, mysterious purple, with strange patterns and shapes drifting within view. Her right iris... It was a piercing, shining, silvery white. Not like a pearl, but like a sparkly bone. Lightning flashed through her iris, brightening it. Between the two, right-INTENSITY, left-SPOOKY, I didn’t know where to look. So I looked into her right pupil.

Pupils weren’t much better. Though her gaze was somehow steady, her pupils were wild and untamed, like there was an animal inside, fighting to get out. It reminded me of the time I was trying to write an intense scene in this story and my pet bird was saying 'happy bird, happy bird, happy bird,' over and over and over again. I got really frustrated, and it was hard not to freak out at him and cover his cage. But with her, it was so much more wild and crazy, She was insane. Mad. Cuckoo. Off her rocket. She didn’t have one screw loose, she had almost all them. Just a few left, enough to keep her from falling apart. But the scariest part about this madness was how precise, how controlled it was. It made me feel paranoid. This girl could kill me if she wanted, but to her it wouldn’t matter. She wouldn’t bat an eye. Then and there, I resolved to never make an enemy out of her. If I did, and if I lived, I would regret it. After a long time that seemed like hours, she let go of me and announced, (as if anyone had been waiting) 

‘The girrrrl has prrroven herrrself worrrthy of ourrr prrrescence and, as of now, I have decided to give her an Aura.’

I had no idea of what an ‘Aura’ was, but whatever it was, Jay was looking impressed, and Jay’s sister looked very satisfied and more than a little bit smug. She then leaped up the trunk and disappeared into the leafy branches.

‘Come along! The time is not ours to be wasted!’

Jay looked at me, unsure, and shouted up, 

‘Tweet can’t climb your tree.’

‘Nonsense! I can climb any tree-’

Jay silenced me with a look.

‘Not this tree, you can’t.’ She murmured.

A voice came bouncing down from above

‘Use the haura! Twenty-three, forty-two.’

Jay moved closer to the trunk, muttering to herself 

‘Twenty-three, forty-two. Twenty-three, forty-two.’

At last she made an exclamation of pleasure. She pressed one of the glyphs, and a ladder appeared out of nowhere. She placed her bow and quiver on the ground near the roots of the tree, and jumped on the ladder. She tested it, then scrambled up. Before she vanished from sight, she motioned for me to climb as well. Uneasily I stepped forward, and carefully tested the ladder as she had done. It felt like a normal ladder, but when I stepped on it, it felt steadier than any other ladder I had been on. I eagerly started upward. In a remarkably short time, I was in the leaves. The leaves did not grow along the branch like they usually did at home, but instead grew only at the tips of the branches, giving the impression of a full leafy tree. Somehow an illusion had been placed on the tree so that when you were below the branches and looked up, it appeared to have widespread boughs. But now that I was above, the tree was totally different. The branches and boughs were as thick around as my head, and they pressed together, growing to make a floor. The opening I had come through was one of the three openings for entrance and exit. The tree had also somehow made its branches grow in such a way that chairs and couches and tables grew out of the floor. Huge, soft petals, leaves, cattail fuzz, and a few animal pelts gave the furniture and the floor some soft quality, though the rest of the floor was hard and bare. Higher up, I could see that the taller branches made other floors, though they were considerably smaller that this one. It was in one of those higher rooms that the girl danced around singing in a strange language, mixing things in small pots, sprinkling things, and touching the tree in some particular order. When she had stopped her work, I yelled up,

‘I never got your name, did you get mine?’

She whistled back cheerily with something that sounded like a bird call. 

‘I got yourrrr Jay name, Tweet. But what may yourrr trrrue name be?’

‘My real name is Emiline.’

‘Emiline, Emiline, Emiline,’

She sang, and then called down,

‘I have many names, but you may call me Cat, since my trrrrue name be Tigrrress.’

She then went back to her feverish dance and mix routine, humming and singing to herself. Occasionally she would shout my  name down, but I soon realized she didn’t need me or anything, she was just shouting.

Finally she slithered down the main trunk with a box in her hand. She placed it on a small table, and instructed me to walk towards it, bowing at every step.

I felt pretty stupid, but I did it. When I reached the box she told me that whatever she said to me, I must answer truthfully. Jay jumped in then, claiming that she would translate. I wanted to know whether this box was an Aura, what an Aura was, and whether they had any spy cameras in the tree, but then Tigress started to speak.

‘Ala shon de la fon hok oo la play?’